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W. Bruce Fye, M.D., M.A.
Dr. Fye, a Mayo Clinic consultant in cardiology, is a recognized leader in his medical specialty and in the history of medicine. He is past president of the American College of Cardiology and the American Osler Society. In 2008-2010, he will serve as president of the American Association for the History of Medicine.
Mayo Clinic's rich history provides perspective that can inform decision making across the organization. It's valuable to have a sense of our past as we look to the future.
I see a link between recording a patient's medical history and documenting Mayo Clinic's own medical history. Think about what doctors do when a patient presents with a problem. First we take a history from the patient. This unique information helps us decide what to do next as we chart a patient's path to better health. We document this history in the medical record so future caregivers can benefit from what we learned today. The same principle applies to the history of medicine.
We must continue to collect and preserve Mayo Clinic's history so future leaders and staff understand why and how the institution introduced so many important innovations in patient care, research and education. History is a living phenomenon. Today's decisions and actions become tomorrow's history.
Doctors are struggling to stay ahead of an unending avalanche of new knowledge that comes at us from many directions. A century ago, long before computers and the Internet, our predecessors also felt inundated by information. That was one of the main drivers of specialization. Mayo Clinic invented the multispecialty group practice model that encouraged doctors to specialize and work together. The clinic developed one of America's best medical libraries to help doctors keep up.
Mayo is continuing this tradition of innovation with many new initiatives. History shows that benefactors can support these initiatives with confidence.
How does the Center for the History of Medicine support the "culture" of Mayo Clinic? When I talk with patients, I often hear how much they appreciate Mayo's atmosphere of caring. Patients are tuned in to the art of medicine. Medical history — Mayo Clinic's history — can teach us much about the importance of listening to our patients and delivering care in a compassionate manner.
Mayo's rich history provides many examples of professionalism, something we must all practice and instill in our students and trainees. I've also been impressed how curious our patients and staff are about the clinic's history. We need to make this history more accessible. Through its varied programs and activities, the Center for the History of Medicine will contribute to a greater awareness of the origins and evolution of Mayo's culture.
The center helps coordinate and facilitate a wide range of activities relating to medical history, some of which are well established while others are just getting under way. For example, Mayo's campuses in Minnesota, Florida and Arizona are collecting artifacts and documents related to their own history. Some of these items are displayed in the Historical Suite in the Plummer Building in Rochester. There will be more opportunities to share our past with patients and staff as a museum, Mayo Clinic Heritage Hall, is developed on each campus.
It's important to preserve artifacts and documents. These are the raw materials that scholars use in a wide range of research projects.
One of our goals is to encourage more historical research about Mayo which will result in publications and presentations that share these insights with a larger audience. The center will provide resources and mentor individuals interested in pursuing Mayo's history or the history of medicine in general. In cooperation with Mayo's leaders in education and research, we plan to create distinctive programs and presentations to integrate history into the curriculum when appropriate. These efforts rely on the small, but dedicated, staff in the Mayo Historical Unit, the library and other institutional resources.
I foresee a dynamic environment where people value history not as something "back then," but as a touchstone for where we are today and where we want to go in the future. To secure this vision, we are actively seeking philanthropic support for the center. This is vital in order for the center to achieve its full potential. We must ensure that the study of our past has a secure future.
Dr. Will Mayo often spoke of an "adventure in medicine," and I can see the center helping Mayo Clinic carry that spirit forward.
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