WORCESTER MEDICINE
JEDI or Die providing good care for his patients, he helped to change the face of medicine from one based on tradition to one focused more on science and results. Medical school in the mid-19th century was not what we have come to expect today. There were no significant prerequisites; courses were lectures with little or no patient contact. Medical schools were completely dependent on income from student tuition and, thus, a protest could be ruinous. Examinations were oral in the case of Harvard, and others, since a significant percentage of the students were illiterate. Boisterous activity, sometimes leading to complaints by neighbors of the schools, was not unusual. A member of Ms. Blackwell’s class described the student body as one made up of the sons of farmers, tradesmen and mechanics. A common saying ... was, “a boy who proved unfit for anything else must become a doctor.” In 2020, Harvard Medical School students circulated a petition protesting the name of the institution’s Oliver Wendell Holmes Society. The petition stated that “As dean of HMS in 1850, [Mr.] Holmes was challenged by students and faculty to revoke the acceptances of three Black students that had gained admission to HMS. Holmes responded by expelling the Black students and wrote, ‘This experiment that the intermixing of the white and Black races in their lecture rooms is distasteful to a large portion of the class and injurious to the interests of the school.’” Many other points are made in the petition, but no mention made of the fact that Mr. Holmes was responsible for admitting the three Black applicants, and a woman, in the first place. Over 650 signatures were obtained from faculty and students. The name of the Oliver Wendall Holmes Society has been changed. The faculty of Geneva Medical College may have shown foresight in dodging a potential student revolt, but, by today’s standards, the students made the right decision for the wrong reasons. Mr. Holmes, condemned by students and faculty in 1850 for admitting Black students and a woman, now stands condemned by students and faculty for not succeeding in overcoming the ethos of the times. +
References: Blackwell, Elizabeth. 1977. Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women. With New Introduction by Mary Roth Walsh. Schocken Books, New York. Podolsky Scott, Bryan Charles. 2009. Oliver Wendall Holmes, Physician and Man of Letters. Science History Publications, Sagamore Beach. Nolan, LaShyra. 2020. Renaming the Holmes Society At HMS/HSDM. Webpage Accessed 2021-2-10. [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/ 1FAIpQLSeGz-HFs9NGE1vQxGSuAbaJQh_LRap8jzkvNadrtL1PtrMX-A/viewform]
In Memoriam Dr. Robert E. Maher
Dr. Robert E Maher, an obstetrician and gynecologist, who practiced in Worcester for over 35 years, died Feb. 3, 2021. Dr. Maher was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and was educated locally. He attended The College of the Holy Cross and medical school at Tufts University. Later, he served in the U.S. Navy. Following naval service, he worked as an attending OB- GYN at Saint Vincent and the former Hahneman and Worcester City hospitals. In 1978, he ended his private practice and became the chiefOB-GYN at the Fallon Clinic. Dr. Maher was certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He was a fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a member of the Worcester District Medical Society, the Massachusetts Medical Society , and served on the board of directors of the former Marillac Manor in Worcester. He was a faithful communicant at the Immaculate Conception Parish, a member of the Order of the Purple Knights of The College of the Holy Cross and a member of the former Alumni Sodality of our Lady at Holy Cross. Dr. Maher’s life was described as incredible; enriched by faith, love and humor. + Sidney P. Kadish, WDMS Memorials Committee
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MAY / JUNE 2021
