Formation | 1970 |
---|---|
Purpose | "the common purpose of keeping alive the memory of Sir William Osler" [1] |
President | Rolando Del Maestro |
Affiliations | Osler Library of the History of Medicine |
Website | Official website |
The American Osler Society is an organisation dedicated to the history of medicine and focuses on the "life, teachings, and ethical example of Sir William Osler". It works in co-operation with the Osler Library of the History of Medicine at McGill University and consists of a group of physicians, medical historians, and other related professions united by "the common purpose of keeping alive the memory of Sir William Osler". [1]
The society publishes a newsletter, The Oslerian .
John P. McGovern, from Houston, Texas, and Alfred Henderson from Washington, were concerned over the perceived lessening humane effect of science on medical education and the increasing threat of technology. [1] [2] Together with Chester R. Burns they formed the American Osler Society in 1970. William B. Bean became the first president, George Harrell the first vice-president, followed by Tom Durant as second vice-president. McGovern became the first secretary and the position of "historian" was created in 2000. [1] [2] [3]
The statement of purpose; [1]
The purpose of the Society is to unite, into an organized group, physicians, and others allied to the profession, with a common interest in memorializing and perpetuating the lessons of the life and teachings of William Osler; to meet periodically for the purpose of presentation and discussion ofpapers on the life and influence of Osler upon the profession, and to publish these essays as a Proceedings of the Society; to continually place before the profession a reminder of the high principles of life and humanism in practice of Osler, and to introduce these things to those entering the profession.
Osler's Oxford students, Wilburt C. Davison, Emile Holman, and Wilder Penfield, were named the three Honorary Members. [1]
A latchkey represents the logo of the society. A number of junior medical staff were given the keys to Osler's home library in Baltimore, by Osler himself. These favoured staff members who included Harvey Cushing, became known as "latch-keyers". [4] [5]
The society works in co-operation with the Osler Library of the History of Medicine at McGill University and consists of a group of physicians, medical historians, and other related professions united by the aim of keeping Osler's memory. The society meets annually each spring. [1] [7] [8]
Between 1970 and 2007, the society had witnessed over 700 presentations, of which about half have been centred around Osler's personal and professional life. [2]
In May 2003, the American Osler Society, the Osler Club of London and the Japanese Osler Society came together in Edinburgh. [9]
Selected presentations have been published as the persisting Osler in the quarterly The Oslerian. [1] [10]
The William Osler Academy Awards was initiated by the co-operation of the Osler Library of the History of Medicine at McGill and the American Osler Society. [11]
The society supports the student "Bean prize" for research in medical history. [12]
The John P. McGovern Award Lecture was created by the AOS in 1983. [13]
Bloodletting is the withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily fluids were regarded as "humours" that had to remain in proper balance to maintain health. It is claimed to have been the most common medical practice performed by surgeons from antiquity until the late 19th century, a span of over 2,000 years. In Europe, the practice continued to be relatively common until the end of the 19th century. The practice has now been abandoned by modern-style medicine for all except a few very specific medical conditions. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the historical use of bloodletting was harmful to patients.
Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet, was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first residency program for specialty training of physicians, and he was the first to bring medical students out of the lecture hall for bedside clinical training. He has frequently been described as the Father of Modern Medicine and one of the "greatest diagnosticians ever to wield a stethoscope". In addition to being a physician he was a bibliophile, historian, author, and renowned practical joker. He was passionate about medical libraries and medical history, having founded the History of Medicine Society, at the Royal Society of Medicine, London. He was also instrumental in founding the Medical Library Association of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Association of Medical Librarians along with three other people, including Margaret Charlton, the medical librarian of his alma mater, McGill University. He left his own large history of medicine library to McGill, where it became the Osler Library.
John William Michael Bliss (1941–2017) was a Canadian historian and author. Though his early works focused on business and political history, he also wrote biographies of physicians Frederick Banting, William Osler and Harvey Cushing. Bliss was a frequent commentator on political events and issues. He was an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (ΑΩΑ) is an honor society in the field of medicine.
Maude Elizabeth Seymour Abbott was a Canadian physician, among Canada's earliest female medical graduates, and an internationally known expert on congenital heart disease. She was one of the first women to obtain a BA from McGill University.
William Bennett Bean was an internist, medical historian, teacher and collector.
The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is one of the constituent faculties of McGill University. It was established in 1829 after the Montreal Medical Institution was incorporated into McGill College as the college's first faculty; it was the first medical faculty to be established in Canada. The Faculty awarded McGill's first degree, and Canada's first medical degree to William Leslie Logie in 1833.
The Principles and Practice of Medicine: Designed for the Use of Practitioners and Students of Medicine is a medical textbook by Sir William Osler. It was first published in 1892 by D. Appleton & Company, while Osler was professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. The book established Osler as the world's leading authority in the teaching of modern medicine.
John P. McGovern was an American allergist, investor and philanthropist. He established the McGovern Allergy Clinic in Houston, Texas, created the Texas Allergy Research Foundation and the John P. McGovern Foundation, and co-founded the American Osler Society.
Charles "Chuck" Gordon Roland was born on January 25, 1933, in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Jack and Leona Roland. After a long and distinguished career as an author, editor, and Hannah Professor of the History of Medicine at McMaster University, Roland died at the age of 76 on June 9, 2009, in Burlington, Ontario.
The Osler Club of London is a society founded in 1928 to encourage the study of the history of medicine, particularly amongst medical students, and to keep "green the memory of Sir William Osler". Membership in the club is open to medical men and women, medical students, and persons associated with the history of medicine and in allied sciences.
Thomas John "Jock" Murray is a Canadian neurologist, medical historian and author.
Alfred White Franklin FRCP was an English neonatologist and paediatrician who edited numerous books on child abuse, founded the British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, kept an interest in medical history and wrote on child matters. He was a prominent figure in the field of child abuse prevention.
Edith Campbell, was a Canadian nurse. She was one of the first Canadian nurses to arrive in England to assist in the establishment of the Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital, a field hospital in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, and serve during the First World War in both England and France, earning a number of medals including the Royal Red Cross, first class, and the Military Medal. She was also twice mentioned in dispatches.
Charles Stone Bryan is an American retired infectious disease physician, researcher, author and Heyward Gibbes distinguished professor emeritus of internal medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine (UofSC). His contributions to medicine have included working on a formula for administering the maximum possible dose of penicillin to people with kidney failure which would treat the infection and avoid penicillin toxicity, and treating and writing on HIV/AIDS. He is also a noted medical historian and an authority on the life of William Osler.
Aequanimitas was one of Sir William Osler's most famous essays, delivered to new doctors in 1889 as his farewell address at the Pennsylvania School of Medicine, prior to his transfer to Johns Hopkins. It was published in the same year and in 1904 appeared in his collection of essays titled Aequanimitas with Other Addresses to Medical Students, Nurses and Practitioners of Medicine. A second edition was produced in 1906, and a third in 1932. In the essay, Osler advocates two qualities "imperturbability" and "equanimity", which he defined as "coolness and presence of mind under all circumstances".
Mark Edwin Silverman MD MACP FACC, was an American cardiologist, medical historian, medical educator and author of more than 200 medical articles and a number of books, who founded the cardiology program at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
Rolando Fausto Del Maestro is an Italian-born Canadian neurosurgeon, the William Feindel Professor Emeritus in neuro-oncology and director of the Neurosurgical Simulation Research Center at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, where he has been involved in simulating real brain surgery by creating virtual setting scenarios, founded upon the principles of flight simulation.
The Bean prize, also known as the William B. Bean Student Research Award and named for William Bennett Bean, is awarded annually to medical students by the American Osler Society (AOS) for research in history of medicine and humanities.