Professor Emeritus
On April 14, 2015 I was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus of the Escola Paulista de Medicina – EPM (São Paulo Medical School).
This was my medical school. As they say in the United States, my Alma-Mater. My father was one of the founders of this Medical School, and I decided that this would be the school in which I would study Medicine. I spent six happy years there and graduated in 1955.
After some training in otolaryngology here in São Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro, I spent three years at the Washington University in Saint Louis. I have been privileged to have had extraordinary teachers – Dr. Theodore Walsh, Dr. Walter Covell, Dr. Hallowell Davis, Dr. Richard Silverman, Dr. Ira Hirsh, Dr Joseph Ogura, Dr. Donald Eldredge, Dr. José Santiago Riesco McClure, Dr. Carl Sherrick Jr. ... And I was also privileged to do both clinical and research work in a rapidly changing specialty. There were other Brazilian otolaryngologists that were also specializing in otolaryngology in the United States and in Europe during those years and, in a way, together, we changed Brazilian Otolaryngology.
On returning to EPM in 1961, I became an Assistant Professor. I was brave enough to organize, in 1965, a course on otologic surgery, the first in Brazil to show live operations transmitted through a television system. Most of the participants of this course were Professors of Otolaryngology of other Brazilian medical schools.
In 1966 I became an Associate Professor and in 1967 I became a Full Professor and Chairman of Otolaryngology. I worked at EPM for 41 years, until my retirement in 2002.
During this time I became involved in creating a Residency program in Otolaryngology; a Course in Audiology and Speech Pathology; Post-Graduation courses in Otolaryngology and Post-Graduation courses in Audiology and Speech Pathology. Many of my students became Professors of Otolaryngology in several Brazilian Medical Schools, and I also helped other students who became Professors of Audiology. Having had outstanding disciples is, most probably, the greatest reward for a Professor.
The title of Professor Emeritus is a great honor and I received this title with intense emotion. The ceremony brought me back to the occasion, many years ago, that the Brazilian chapter of the Israel Medical Association made me “Physician of the Year.” I remember saying, at that time, that I felt that I deserved the title, but also felt that not all of the people who deserve it actually receive it. I think that this is also true of the title of Professor Emeritus.
%2B(Large).JPG)
I was also reminded of a Professor Emeritus who became a dear friend: the late John E. Bordley, Professor Emeritus at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He was very interested in the education of deaf children and invited me to visit the Boystown Hearing Institute, in Omaha, Nebraska, a model institution that he helped to establish. And this was something that he accomplished after retiring from the Department of Otolaryngology of the University.
I hope that I can follow his example and keep on working as long as my body and brain allow me to continue. This is probably the best thing that a Professor Emeritus can do.
This was my medical school. As they say in the United States, my Alma-Mater. My father was one of the founders of this Medical School, and I decided that this would be the school in which I would study Medicine. I spent six happy years there and graduated in 1955.
After some training in otolaryngology here in São Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro, I spent three years at the Washington University in Saint Louis. I have been privileged to have had extraordinary teachers – Dr. Theodore Walsh, Dr. Walter Covell, Dr. Hallowell Davis, Dr. Richard Silverman, Dr. Ira Hirsh, Dr Joseph Ogura, Dr. Donald Eldredge, Dr. José Santiago Riesco McClure, Dr. Carl Sherrick Jr. ... And I was also privileged to do both clinical and research work in a rapidly changing specialty. There were other Brazilian otolaryngologists that were also specializing in otolaryngology in the United States and in Europe during those years and, in a way, together, we changed Brazilian Otolaryngology.
On returning to EPM in 1961, I became an Assistant Professor. I was brave enough to organize, in 1965, a course on otologic surgery, the first in Brazil to show live operations transmitted through a television system. Most of the participants of this course were Professors of Otolaryngology of other Brazilian medical schools.
In 1966 I became an Associate Professor and in 1967 I became a Full Professor and Chairman of Otolaryngology. I worked at EPM for 41 years, until my retirement in 2002.
During this time I became involved in creating a Residency program in Otolaryngology; a Course in Audiology and Speech Pathology; Post-Graduation courses in Otolaryngology and Post-Graduation courses in Audiology and Speech Pathology. Many of my students became Professors of Otolaryngology in several Brazilian Medical Schools, and I also helped other students who became Professors of Audiology. Having had outstanding disciples is, most probably, the greatest reward for a Professor.
The title of Professor Emeritus is a great honor and I received this title with intense emotion. The ceremony brought me back to the occasion, many years ago, that the Brazilian chapter of the Israel Medical Association made me “Physician of the Year.” I remember saying, at that time, that I felt that I deserved the title, but also felt that not all of the people who deserve it actually receive it. I think that this is also true of the title of Professor Emeritus.
I was also reminded of a Professor Emeritus who became a dear friend: the late John E. Bordley, Professor Emeritus at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He was very interested in the education of deaf children and invited me to visit the Boystown Hearing Institute, in Omaha, Nebraska, a model institution that he helped to establish. And this was something that he accomplished after retiring from the Department of Otolaryngology of the University.
I hope that I can follow his example and keep on working as long as my body and brain allow me to continue. This is probably the best thing that a Professor Emeritus can do.
Comments
Post a Comment