The 2023 Striker Lecture to recount the history of the UC Department of Surgery

Two centuries of surgery at the UC College of Medicine

By Richard Puff

In January 1922, George Heuer, MD, arrived in Cincinnati as the first full-time chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Well known as one of the country’s leading neurosurgeons, Heuer was recruited from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and was charged with developing a premier academic surgical program at the College of Medicine.

Later that year, Heuer established the third surgical residency program ever in the United States, based on the Halstead philosophy of surgical training. He would soon recruit several other Hopkins surgeons to Cincinnati, further strengthening the UC Department of Surgery. These included Mont Reid, MD, B. Noland Carter, MD, Bill Andress, MD, Max Zinninger, MD, and Ralph Bowers, MD.

While the Medical College of Ohio, the forerunner of the current UC College of Medicine, had numerous nationally respected professors of surgery since the 1820s, the college’s modern surgical department began with the arrival of Heuer and what is often referred to as “the Hopkins Invasion.”

Much more about the development and achievements of the college’s Department of Surgery will be explained at 5 p.m., Tuesday, April 25 during the 2023 Cecil Striker Lecture. “A History of the University of Cincinnati Department of Surgery” will be presented in Kresge Auditorium by Michael Nussbaum, MD.

Nussbaum is senior vice president professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke, Virginia. He was interim chair of the UC College of Medicine Department of Surgery from 2006-2007. Nussbaum came to Cincinnati after receiving his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981 and completed his general surgery residency at the UC College of Medicine before being appointed to the faculty in 1986.

michael nussbaum

Michael Nussbaum, MD, former interim chair of surgery at the UC College of Medicine and current senior vice president professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, will deliver the 2023 Striker Lecture April 25. Photo courtesy of Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.

“Surgical history has been a passion of mine since my days as a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, our nation’s first medical school, which was steeped in historical lore and tradition,” Nussbaum said. “In 1990, Drs. David McFadden, Josef Fischer and I published a centennial tribute to Dr. Mont Reid in the Annals of Surgery and thus began my fascination with the rich history of this storied department of surgery. Since then, I have continued to study and write about surgical history in Cincinnati, as well as my home institutions in Jacksonville and Roanoke where there are many interesting overlaps.”

Nussbaum said his lecture will touch on the history of surgery at the College of Medicine since its founding in 1819. However, his talk will emphasize the last 100 years, starting with the arrival of Heuer to Cincinnati.

Following Nussbaum’s presentation, attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and, about 6:30 p.m., can attend a reception and view an exhibit, “From Halsted to Heuer: The UC Department of Surgery and the Johns Hopkins Pipeline, 1922-1952,” in the Stanley J. Lucas, MD, Board Room (E005HA) near Kresge Auditorium.

The 14th Striker Lecture is hosted by the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions, part of UC Libraries. The lecture series is named after Cecil Striker, MD, Class of 1921, a longtime College of Medicine faculty member who was passionate about medical history and who served as the first president of the American Diabetes Association in 1940. Striker died in 1976.

Register to attend the free presentation. The presentation also will be available via Zoom. Registrants will have Zoom details provided to them.

Featured photo at top of a surgery demonstration in the UC amphitheater courtesy of the UC Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions.

Visit all the Libraries! New display on the 5th floor lobby of Langsam Library

The University of Cincinnati Libraries empowers discover, stimulates learning and inspires the creation of knowledge by connecting students, faculty, researchers and scholars to dynamic data, information and resources. The University of Cincinnati Libraries comprises 10 locations that support the university’s undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. A new display on the 5th floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library features the various libraries and encourages people to visit each one.

A handout, available at the exhibit and online, maps out each library location.

And while visiting each library, post and tag @uclibraries using #selfieforsticker, then visit the desk for a library sticker.

 

The display was curated and designed by communication design co-op student Jakob Elliott.

Trip Pro

The UC Health Sciences Library has recently upgraded our subscription to Trip Pro. Trip (Turning Research into Practice) is a clinical search engine that empowers researchers to quickly find high quality information. This resource includes 100,000+ systematic reviews, medical images and videos, regulatory guidance, clinical guidelines, and more. Trip Pro homepageHave questions or need help using this or other library resources? Contact us!

Tiffany Grant Awarded the 2023 Marian Spencer Equity Ambassador Award for Faculty

tiffany grantTiffany Grant, PhD, assistant director for research and informatics and co-director of the University of Cincinnati Libraries Research and Data Services Unit, in a ceremony held April 4, was honored to receive the 2023 Marian Spencer Equity Ambassador Award for Faculty. Named for the celebrated civil rights activist, this award is designed to showcase current campus-affiliated individuals and groups whose efforts relate to diversity, equity and inclusion and who have had a positive impact on the university.

Nominated by her colleagues, Tiffany was commended for her commitment to promoting awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion; exhibiting sensitivity to people of various cultures; facilitating growth among colleagues and peers; preparing students, faculty and staff to thrive in a diverse and global workforce; and collaborating with colleagues to create and implement initiatives and policies that build an equitable and inclusive environment. One nominator wrote of Tiffany that she, “embodies the spirit and dedication to spreading awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in all her work at the University of Cincinnati.” Continue reading

OhioLINK DEI e-books now available

Thanks to the State Library of Ohio awarding OhioLINK the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) grant funded by IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services), we now have access to ‘Phase 1’ of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion electronic book collection (see complete Excel list)  . OhioLINK’s goal was to bring better representation of diverse communities and perspectives to the library collections.  Through the ProQuest platform’s curated librarian-selected collection that covers various subjects with diversity and representation in race, gender, religion, physical ability, age, political persuasion, and sexual orientation, that goal was met.

This dynamic digitally shared collection allows all OhioLINK member libraries to have an unlimited number of users and perpetual access to all 82 e-books.  Books can be accessed through a search in the UC Library Catalog or by following the directions below.  Check it out!

DEI ebooks

Check out library Spring Break reduced hours, March 11-19

spring break vine with lemons

Most University of Cincinnati Libraries locations have reduced hours for Spring Break, March 11-19. Check the library website for a list of hours by location.

Have a safe and relaxing Spring Break, Bearcats!

Show your love for UC Libraries and get a library sticker

library sticker graphicDid you know UC Libraries is comprised of 10 locations? In addition to the Walter C. Langsam Library, there are libraries located throughout campus with collections and resources customized to the various colleges and departments.

Recently, representatives from Student Government contacted us with the desire to increase awareness of the study spaces and resources available in the various college and departmental libraries (C&Ds). Coincidentally, communication design co-op students Norah Jenkins and Jakob Elliott had just created stickers representing each library; thus, a promotional plan was born.

bearcatalog

The Bearcatalog in the DAAP Library

The promotional plan encourages students to visit the various library locations, take a photo with/of the Bearcatalog foam cutout located near the entrance, post to social media tagging @UCLibraries with #selfieforsticker and then visit the help desk for a sticker of that library.

In addition to promoting the various C&D libraries, having students visit the desk is a friendly way for them to get introduced to the helpful people who work in the libraries so that when they have questions or need research help they are more comfortable seeking assistance.

The campaign runs March 2-31 with posts to the UC Libraries Twitter and Instagram feeds throughout the month.

We encourage everyone on campus to show your ♥️ for UC Libraries. Visit one of the UC Libraries 10 locations, take a photo with/of the Bearcatalog foam statue, post and tag @uclibraries using #selfieforsticker. Visit the desk for your library sticker. Hours vary per location, so be sure to check before heading out.

Have fun!

Love Data Week Day 5 – Data: Agent of Change or Perpetuating the Cycle? 

Data: Agent of Change or Perpetuating the Cycle? 

By Tiffany Grant, PhD, CDE® 

Data for Black Lives 

Data can be a powerful tool for informing decisions and effecting change. But, what happens when data is used to create and perpetuate discriminatory practices? Taken directly from the Data for Black Lives website:  

“History tells a different story, one in which data is too often wielded as an instrument of oppression, reinforcing inequality and perpetuating injustice. Redlining was a data-driven enterprise that resulted in the systematic exclusion of Black communities from key financial services. More recent trends like predictive policing, risk-based sentencing, and predatory lending are troubling variations on the same theme.” 

Data for Black Lives is a movement of activists, organizers, and scientists committed to the mission of using data to create concrete and measurable change in the lives of Black people. The organization is comprised of 20,000 scientists and activists who endeavor to change the narrative and create racial justice by challenging discriminatory uses of data and algorithms across systems. The D4BL movement works to use data and technology as instruments to foster good in the Black community.  

 

Fatal Force Washington Post Database (1)

Did you know that 1,112 people have been shot and killed by police in the past 12 months? The Washington Post has tracked 8,229 fatal police shootings since 2015, and the data are available here. Ongoing analysis by the Post has shown that police shoot and kill more than 1,000 people each year. In 2015, the post began to log data behind each shooting by an on duty police officer. The data tells striking and alarming stories.  

  • Black Americans are killed at a much higher rate than White Americans (black Americans are killed at twice rate of white Americans). 
  • Most victims are young (20-40 years old). 

The database can be mined using several filters. The filters include: 

  • City and State 
  • Age 
  • Gender 
  • Race 
  • Year of shooting 
  • Victims Name 
  • Year of Shooting 
  • Fleeing scene 
  • Armed vs unarmed 

Why is this data significant? “The FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention log fatal shootings by police, but officials acknowledge that their data is incomplete. Since 2015, The Post has documented more than twice as many fatal shootings by police as recorded on average annually by these agencies. The Post’s database is updated regularly as fatal shootings are reported and as facts emerge about individual cases. The Post seeks to make the database as comprehensive as possible (1)”. 

 References 

  1. Police shootings database 2015-2023: Search by race, age, department. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/police-shootings-database-2015-2022-search-by-race-age-department/.

 

 

Langsam Library exhibits installed in honor of Black History Month pay tribute to trailblazers and display the enormous loss in the Middle Passage

On display in the Walter C. Langsam Library are two new exhibits created and installed for Black History Month. The first pays tribute to Cincinnati African American Medical Trailblazers – Lucy Oxley and O’dell Owens. The second exhibit displays the enormous loss of life in The Middle Passage.

Cincinnati African American Medical Trailblazers

On display on the 4th floor lobby of Langsam Library, this exhibit features materials from the collections of UC Libraries about Lucy Oxley, MD, the first person of color to receive a medical degree from the UC College of Medicine, and O’dell Owens, renowned physician, former Hamilton County coroner and the first African American to sit on the board of the University of Cincinnati.

cincinnati african american medical trailblazers

The Middle Passage

On the 5th floor lobby of Langsam Library is a large map depicting the Middle Passage, which commonly refers to the experience of enslaved African people as they traveled across the Atlantic Basin to the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade. Illness, insanity, hunger, dehydration, torture, revolt, suicide and ship wreck led to the death of ~1.8 million Africans at sea during their Middle Passage.

The exhibit corresponds with the Uncommon Read of the book “Slavery at Sea: Terror, Sex, and Sickness in the Middle Passage” by Sowande’ M. Mustakeem. A Lunch and Learn with the author is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23 from 12:30-2pm in the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library’s Stanley J. Lucas M.D. Boardroom (E005HA). Register to attend the Lunch and Learn.

the middle passage graphic

Both exhibits were curated by UC Libraries faculty and staff: Meshia Anderson, Susan Banoun, Sidney Gao, Tiffany Grant, Gino Pasi and June Taylor-Slaughter. It was designed by UC Libraries communications design co-op Jakob Elliott.