Dr. David Skorton
At Uris Auditorium on September 20, Dr. Andrew Schafer introduced Dr. David J. Skorton, stating: "This is the day when cardiothoracic joins medicine at grand rounds." Faculty and residents-in-training enjoyed a visit from Dr. Skorton, the President of Cornell University (Ithaca), who was being honored as The O. Wayne Isom Visiting Professor. As guest speaker, Dr. Skorton posed the question: Does a Career in Academic Medicine Still Make Sense?
One of several university presidents in the country with an MD, Dr. Skorton discussed what is necessary for an academic career in medicine, listing four components: teaching skills, investigation, caring for people, and engaging in public discourse and policy. The latter he cited as an especially essential part of a physician's mission.
Dr. Skorton named several physicians of historical note who personified the four components; they included Claude Bernard, Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, Arthur Conan Doyle (physician-writer of the Sherlock Holmes detective stories), and Galen of Pergamon. He also discussed the importance of evidence-based medicine, promoting science in middle school, assessing student learning outcomes, the need for expanding primary care in rural settings, and the future of physician-scientists, incorporating several highlights from The Vanishing Physician-Scientist, a book edited by Dr. Schafer.
Before closing his lecture, Dr. Skorton once again encouraged physicians to engage themselves in public discourse and policy surrounding the field of healthcare.
A question/answer session followed. Dr. O. Wayne Isom gave closing remarks.