University of Michigan Medical and Nursing School - Aequanimitas Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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RICHARD O. KRAFT spam 1 it Richard O. Kraft, Assistant Professor of Surgery Born August 16, 1928 B.A., M.D., University of Michigan Intern, Resident at University Hospital, Ann Arbor Galens Shovel St. .joseph Mercy Hospital and the University of Michigan are proud to have a teacher like Richard O. Kraft walk their halls. lt takes many adjectives to describe this forty year old general surgeon, He is dynamic, energetic, enthusiastic, witty, colorful, loving and most important of all, he is a kindly family doctor. WVhen one mentions his name he finds that the common denominator of all the responses is one of respect. One rarely finds Ur. Kraft walking aloneg for at his side are many students of medicine. Senior and ,junior residents. interns and medical students, nurses and orderlies all are close at hand to have Ur. Kraft add another bit of knowledge to their understanding of medicine. Everyone laughs and is delighted when Ur. Kraft uses one of his colorful examples to aid in remembering a fact. VVhat sorts of philosophy does this man have? What are his thoughts on teaching? Dr. Kraft believes that in the academic medical world there are three main areas of responsibility: research, teaching. and patient care. Each man in a department is expected to be active in all three areas, but the area of most status and reward is research. But how about the man who does not like research? Shouldn't he be rewarded and have status because he is a great teacher and gives excellent patient care? Dr. Kraft feels strongly that a good academic depart- ment should have men that are strong in each ofthe three areas of responsibility. and that a man should be rewarded equally for doing an excellent ,job in the area he is best ai. When asked how he would describe teaching. Dr. Kraft always answers, lt's just plain hard work! He feels that there are three basic methods of medical teaching: didactic lectures, bedside presentations, and humor. He feels that didactic lectures have a very important role in medical education as long as they are presented in an interesting and informative manner. Bedside presenta- tions and lectures are important since they help the teacher and student remember that medical knowledge is to be applied to the individual patient. Lastly. Dr. Kraft feels that humor has an important role in teach- ing because it helps to keep people's atten- tion and give them examples to help remem- ber important points.

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stimulated by his subject matter in turn stimulating his audience. It often appears as if he is talking to each student individually. Compared to most other lectures, his are unon-academic and practical. He stresses principles rather than urat facts, and fre- quently utilizes practical examples for illus- tration of a point. VVhen students know Ur. judge is speaking, attendance swells: his lectures in Clinical Medicine have attracted over 7506 of each class. He tries to put himself in his students' shoes, believing that this will enable him to be a better teacher. This task is made easier by recalling the long years he spent in classes 'fpluggingw toward a supposedly impossible goal. He first became involved in a major teaching program at the U. of M. in 1959, Richard D. -judge, Associate Professor of Medi- eine Bom May 5,1925 BS., Purdue M.D., Northwestern University Intern, Resident at University Hospital, Ann Arbor Galens Shovel in his first year as an assistant professor, when he was picked as a moderator for a medical TV series. One might suppose he was selected because of his background in electrical engineering, but this had no bear- ing on the appointment. The post was bestowed upon him because of his reputa- tion as one of the worst hams in the vicinity of the Medical Center. Since then he has maintained an interest in medical television and has written articles on the subject. Dr. -Iudge is best known to students for his interest in physical diagnosis. He first became interested in this course because of its intrinsic importancef' and because he felt it was a grossly neglected part ofmedical education in general. He feels that medical students go through a basic psychological change when they advance from the basic sciences to the clinical years, and that this is an important transition period. He stresses that there are no B. C,'s in the doctor- patient relationship, and that some students falter when self-evaluation must be substi- tuted for a grade incentive. Other students blossom at this point in their medical car- eers. When Dr. Judge first became involved with instruction in physical diagnosis he felt that it needed better organization, better correlation between the basic and clinical sciences, and a better textbook fumost phys- ical diagnosis textbooks are ancient litera- ture. j No one else seemed interested so he took over the course. Physical Diagnosis. a textbook coauthored with Dr. George Zui- dema, evolved from their conversation about 19th century textbooks. Dr. judge has no specific philosophy of teaching, but does try to keep several ideas in mind. He believes a teacher should strive to know a student's feeling about things. and to listen to the student when he speaksfl He feels it is important for the student to be allowed to 'fcommit himself' without fear of debasement. Most impor- tantly, the teacher should be a model for students to identify with, and should show a genuine interest in them. 'Brian lVake S .1 . f

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Dr. Kraft thinks that the most difficult thing about teaching is finding the time to get the doctor and students together. Time is the most important commodity a doctor has. Everyone wants a piece of your time, but the good teacher must always find the time to devote to his students. believes Dr. Kraft. There have been three men in Dr. Kraft's career who he thinks are outstanding teach- ers and who have made contributions to his philosophy of teaching and medicine. Natu- rally all three are surgeons and all have been affiliated with the University of Michi- gan Medical Center. They are Drs. William DeVVeese, VVilliam Fry, and George E. Block. Says Dr. Kraft of these men: I have learned much from each, and I have extracted from each a bit of philosophy to build my own. This then is Richard O. Kraft. NI.lJ,. dynamic teacher. general surgeon and friend. We are proud to stand at his side and be called students: we are proud to look upon him and call him teacher. Ajay llarnexx ww, ,si-Sw. Qi, it 'C