Session 1: The Howard Story

This session will explore the history of Howard University’s first surgical residency program.

Required Readings:

Leffall, LaSalle D., Jr., and Burke Syphax. “The Howard University Department of Surgery and Freedmen’s Hospital.” The U.S.A Experience. Ed. Claude H. Organ, Jr. and Margaret M. Kosiba. Norman: Transcript, 1987. 1-62. Print. Vol. 1 of A Century of Black Surgeons. 2 vols.

“The Legacy of the Howard University Surgery Residency Program.” Howard University Hospital. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://www.howard.edu/surgery/index.html>.

Questions

1. What are major events in the history of the establishment of Howard’s Department of Surgery?
2. What was significant about Austin M. Curtis?
3. How did Howard start it’s first residency program?
4. Who are some of the pioneer specialist surgeons who trained or worked under Howard’s Department of Surgery?

Session 2: William Harry Barnes

This session will explore the life and legacy of William Harry Barnes, the first African American certified as a specialist.

Required Readings:

Cobb, William Montague, and Charles H. Epps, Jr. “Certification Pioneers.” The U.S.A Experience. Ed. Claude H. Organ, Jr. and Margaret M. Kosiba. Norman: Transcript, 1987. 483-528. Print. Vol. 2 of A Century of Black Surgeons. 2 vols.

“William Harry Barnes, MD.” American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. <http://www.entnet.org/museum/exhibits/early-african-americans-in-otolaryngology/William-Harry-Barnes-MD.cfm>.

Questions

1. What motivated Dr. Barnes to become a physician? What values did he hold in high regard?
2. What was Dr. Barnes path towards being certified?
3. What was the significance of the Society for the Promotion of Negro Specialist in Medicine?
4. What type of organizations was he involved in?

Session 3: Clarence S. Greene

This session will explore the life and legacy of Clarence S. Greene, the first African American physician certified as a neurological surgeon.

Required Readings:

McClelland, Shearwood, III. “The Montreal Neurological Institute: Training of the First African-American Neurosurgeons.” Journal of the National Medical Association 99.9 (2007): 1071-73. Rpt. in History. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.

Questions

1. What motivated Dr. Greene to become a physician? What values did he hold in high regard?
2. What was Dr. Greene path towards being certified?
3. What was his training like?
4. What was his role in the establishment of Howard’s Division of Neurosurgery?
5. What type of organizations was he involved in?