Harvard medical alumni bulletin

52 Pages·1995·4.3 MB·English

by  Harvard Medical Alumni Association

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Harvard Medical
Winter
1995
Volume 68 Number ALUMNI BULLETIN
3
16 Howthe Neuroscientist Lost HisSoul 46 What's in a Dream?
/;)' Philip R. Siillivmi byS/irahJaneNelson
Matterversus spiritin this dualistic Provocatively differentways to think
debate. about dreams.
21 Is Psychiatry Dead? Departments
byJoseph T. Coyle
On the contrary, it's e.xperiencinga 3 Letters
renaissance.
6 Pulse
24 Phineas DisenGaged FirstKirkpatrickprofessor, Bridges
by TetTiL. Rutter program on mental health, incoming
Onthecover Modern neuroimaging illuminates class, heartstudies, centeron eating
OutlinesofPhrenologybyJosephR. more about this tamous victim of disorders established, md/phd gets
Buchanan,circa 1854.CourtesyofRare brain trauma. new director, dean for clinical
Books,CountwayLibrary.
hiculty named.
28 TheAddicted Brain
by Steven E. Hytfuni 12 OntheQuadrangle
How abused drugs can Mind/Brain/BehaviorInitiative
commandeerbrain circuits and
waylay recovery. 13 President's Report
byJohn D. Stocclcle
34 ProbingtheSecretsofPlacebos
by.liiiie Harrington 13 Bench Marks
The brain's endogenous capacity to Eye test forAlzheimer's disease,
heal. advanced technologies applied to
stroke, research into migraine.
Mirage™hologramproducedbythe
To Hope Helps
HolographicProductsDivisionofPolaroid
Corporation,Cambridge,MA. byHowardM. Spiro 49 Alumni Notes
Placebos as a symbolic
reaffirmation ofdoctor's ability to 57 AnchorsAway!
heal. by Guy Piigh
41 The MalleabilityofMemory 60 In Memoriam
by Ellen Biiilow Oliver Cope
Though amazingly accurate most Brigid Leventhal
ofthe time, memor}'can be subject
to distortion. 64 Death Notices
44 TheCuriousCure
by GeraldD\4nyKlee
The bestmedicine doesn't always
come from the doctor.
Inside [email protected] Harvard Medical
ALUMNI BULLETIN
"Information superhighway" is an oxymoron, as anyone Editor-in-chief
knows who rode and remembers the old highways. Two-lane, William I. Bennett'68
Editor
routed right through the middle oftown, occasionally pep-
— Ellen Barlow
pered with Burma-Shave signs these roads were remarkable
AssociateEditor
for the sheer information in them. What child ofthe '90s can Icrri L. Rutter
play alphabet or word games on an interstate? What driver AssistantEditor
SarahJaneNelson
has even a notion ofwhere she is, except for the uniform
white-on-green signs sparsely identifying numbered exits? EditorialBoard
MelindaFan'96
Who
could ever stop to ask? RobertM.CJoldwyn'56
JoshuaHauser"94
In other ways, ofcourse, the term is apt. Like real super- PaulaA.Johnson'84
highways, the "Net" serves mainly to speed transit between \'ictoriaAIcEvoy'75
GuillemioC.Sanchez'49
two areas ofcongestion. Information must eventually take an J.GordonScannell'40
EleanorShore'55
off-ramp to enter the bumper-to-bumper tangle ofsomeone's JohnD. StoeckJe'47
Richard Wolfe
brain. With any luck it gets parked, and one remembers J.
where. DesignDirection
SametzBlackstone.\ssociates,Inc.
All in all, I resist fantasies ofan electronicAlumni Bulletin.
AssociationOfficers
Print, paper and portability make the format comfortable for JohnD.Stoeckle'47,president
my aging eyes and helter-skelter schedule. The limitation of SStuezpahnanneieFlHe.tcPhienrc'u6s6,'6p8r,espirdeesnitd-eenlte-cetle2cti
space imposes a certain discipline on content (though it also RichardHannah'66,vicepresident
Nanc}'A.Rigotti'78,secretarv
forces us to make hard choices as to what among the riches ArthurR.Kravitz'54,treasurer
we are offered we can hope to print). Councillors
That said, my colleagues and I at HAL4B would very much \K'eannnesestahPR.oHlaayndgoBordid'g7e8s'76
like to learn whether we're missing the electronic boat. DanaLeifer'85
SharonB.Murphy'69
Would anyone who can please drop us a line at DavidD.Oakes'68
AlanA.Rozycki'65
[email protected]? BruceJ.SamsJr.'55
We have no idea, within even an order ofmagnitude, how JLoohrrnaiB.neStDaundblueryvS't3a9nfield"87
much e-mail this request will generate. That's something
DirectorofAlumniRelations
we'd like to know. (Indeed, there's a small office pool riding DanielD. Federman '5^
on the outcome.) We'd also like to know your name, class RepresentativetotheHarvardAlumniAssociation
William\.McDermott'42
and location. Would you like a computer bulletin board
allowing you to communicate with other HMS alumni? Is TheHan'ardMedicalAliintuiBulletinispublished
quarterlyat25 ShattuckStreet,Boston,MA02115
there something we can offer you electronically that we can't ©bytheHarvardMedicalAlumni.Association.
We Telephone:[phone].Thirdclasspostagepaid
provide on paper? don't guarantee an e-answer, but atBoston,Massachusetts.Postmaster,sendform
please watch this space for more about alumni communica- I3S5S7N90t1o912-57S7h5a7t.tuPcriknStterdeeitn,tBhoestUo.nS,.A..\L\02115,
tion at millenium's end.
William I. Bennett ^68
HarvardMedicalAlumni Bulletin
Letters
Dissent inthe House Memoryofmyown trainingyears that the residencyteachingsystem he
The Summer '94 issue ofthe Bulletin begins with Dr. Edward D. Churchill, encountered "effectivelyisolated us
highhghting"The WritersAmong greatchiefofsurgery at themgh. from one another," which he asserts
Us" is a grand one. The talents on dis- World renowned for innovative surgi- encouraged unhealthy facultydomi-
playaffirm the long-held axiom that cal research, he exhibited gentleness at nance since, hewrites, "the enemy of
HarvardMedical School attracts the the patient's bedside, warmth to the dominance is the quaHtyofthe con-
bestand brightestofmultipotential students and residents, and pride in nection amongthose dominated."
youngpeople. and supportofthe legion ofpupils he Such pejorative observations sound
Among those writers featured is nourished. Dr. Churchill's disciples more like fodder for civil revolt than
StephenJ. Bergman '73, authorof, became an assemblage ofprofessors curriculum revision. Duringnine
under the pseudonym Samuel Shem, and practitioners ofsurgeryacross the excitingyears at Harvard, I saw hun-
TheHouse ofGod(Dell, 1978). WTien I land and beyond. They did notsee nor dreds ofstudents, residents and fellows
read the book 15 years ago, Iwas exhibitthe inhumanitythatBergman who were highlytalented, basically
offended and angry. Now, having read would have us believe is rampant in happyand committed beyond all else
his essayin the currentBulletin, I feel Harvard medical education. In fact, it to increasingtheirown knowledge on
obliged to take up my less skillful pen. was from a phalanx ofChurchill- behalfofthose patients theywould
Inhis currentworkas teacherof trained surgeons that I learned rever- one dayserve. In the exigencies ofa
third-year medical students, Bergman ence for life and respect for the human crowded emergencyroom, or a mid-
finds affirmation ofthe "insensitivity, body, concepts that Bergman claimed nightcrises on theward, juniormem-
rough authority, brutalityand outright were nonexistentin the thinlyveiled bers ofthe health care team formed
cruelty" he described so vividly in The Harvard hospital he labeled the alliances, friendships andinterdepen-
HouseofGod, and nowclaims is a per- "House ofGod." dencies thatencouraged humanism at
vasive pattern ofbehaviorby the clini- Across town, at the Children's the highest level.
cal facultyin their treatment of clinical Ilospital, we would have endured any Howcould Bergman's experience
clerks. abuse from Dr. Robert E. Gross to atHarvard and mine have been so dif-
As a surgical resident at the AIGH learn the craft ofchildren's surgery ferent? Itcannot be ascribed to the 15-
(1956 to 1958) and Children's from him. Butthere was no abuse. yearinterval thatseparates our
Hospital (1958 to 1961), myexperi- Hardwork, expectation ofexcellence, trainingdays. I knowmanyofthe cur-
encewas so differentas to bear some and intolerance ofmediocre effort rentteachers in the Harvard hospitals,
description and, I would hope, offer abounded. These guidelines were not some ofwhom shared night call with
rebuttal to The House ofGod, whose to further an academicreputation nor me. It is not differentnow. I conclude
abuses exist in the mind ofBergman to demean an assistant, theyexisted for that Stephen Bergman, perhaps a suc-
and a fewotherdissidents, butnot in one purpose: to getdesperatelyill chil- cessful writer, is carrying a flag forthe
the main bodyofhouse pupils, past dren well. Some students and a num- few and notthe manyin the Harvard
and present from the Harvard hospi- berofresidents in financialstraits medical education experience.
tals. Mostare proud oftheir appoint- found moneyin an envelope in their Judson Randolph
ments, proud ofthe splendid facult}' boxwith a little note ofencourage- Nashville, Tennessee
assembled to instruct them, and proud ment, signed R.E.G.; blatantpaternal-
ofthe supervised responsibilityplaced ism perhaps, buthardly insensitivity. In Response
in theirhands to aid the sick. In the Bulletin essay, Bergman I appreciate the time and sensitivity
Insensitivityon the partofsome indi- refers repeatedly to a "power-over" thatled Dr. Randolph towrite a
viduals? Yes. Arrogancein aninstruc- institution he found odious as an response to myarticle. His experience
torora professor? Yes. Occasional intern. The onlypower I noted as a surgical residentin the 1950s
harassing abuse ofauthoritybyan amongstmyclinical teacherswas their soundswonderful. I wish I'd had that
attending? Yes. However, as Bergman power ofknowledge and expertise, experience in the 1970s. IfI had, I
fails to observe, those unpleasant traits which theystrove usuallywith wouldn'thave had towrite mynovel.
ofbehavior are extantthroughout patience and always with dedication to TheHouseofGodhas sold overa mil-
societyand occur neither more nor impart. lion copies. Though itdoesn'tspeakto
less frequentlyin health care educa- Asecond charge Bergman makes is Dr. Randolph, it does speak to doctors
tion.
Winter 1995
Letters
and medical students across a broad maturity enables us to articulate? The Emergency?
range ofgeography, ethnicit}', class positive response to my newsletter The letter to the editor by Patricia
and race. indicates to me that manyphysicians Glowa "FamilyMatters" (Autumn '94)
Ordocs it speak to Dr. Randolph? appreciate discussion ofthis heretofore resonated stronglywith myown expe-
Ofmywriting that "the enemy of guarded topic. riences at Harvard Medical School,
dominance is the quality ofthe con- I also find it fascinating that but from a slightly differentperspec-
—
nection among those dominated," Dr. Bergman's specialtyis addiction medi- tive emergencymedicine rather than
Randolph says, "Such perjorative cine. I have devoted the past one and familymedicine.
observations sound more like fodder one-halfyears ofmy professional "free I rememberwhen I told my facult\'
for civil revolt than curriculum time" to learning about addictions. advisor that I intended to pursue
reform." Thankyou, Dr. Randolph, The practice ofaddiction medicine is emergencymedicine, itwas almost as
for seeingwhatI meant. Given a one ofthe few branches ofmedicine ifI had died. SurelyI understood the
choice between transformation ("civil where attention is paid to spirituality. folly ofstrayingoutside the boundaries
revolt") from a power-overto a It is the only specialtywhere patients oflegitimate medical study? WTien I
shared-power system, orcurriculum and their doctors are permitted, in fact graduated in 1981, there was no for-
—
reform, I would take the former with encouraged, to admitpowerlessness mal emergency medicine atHAIS or
the faith that curriculum reform would over disease. Training programs in anyofthe affiliated hospitals, a situa-
soon follow. "power-over" institutions either omit tion that has not changed substantially.
Stephen Bergman '75 this lesson ofpowerlessness in other There are some nascent efforts, but
('^SamuelShem") disease states ormassively deny that theyare largely unsupported.
any doctors trained in their hallowed Emergency medicine, however, has
ExperiencesShared halls are powerless over anything. notstood still. It has matured as a spe-
I read Stephen Bergman's "'TheHouse Finally, one rule from The House of cialtybeyond expectations. And, like
ofGod:AHistorical Perspective" Godhas been mycompanion since familymedicine, there is and will con-
(Summer '94) with great interest. 1978, and I'm happyto have the tinue to be a need for academic and
His question "How do we stay opportunityto thankthe author "in clinical practitioners that far exceeds
human in medicine?" is one that I have person." That rule is that at a cardiac the supply. Where doyou think gov-
been thinking about foryears. It is arrest, the house officer should take his ernment training dollars might flow?
especiallyimportant to me as an anes- own pulse first. Itis impossible to take As serendipitywould have it, the
thesiologistpracticing in a high-tech good care ofpatients unless we first Autumn issue ofthe Bulletin arrived
environment, where often myvery take good care ofourselves, "halt" is nearlysimultaneouslywith a letter to
reason for being is to renderpatients universallyapplicable, even ifitmeans the alumni from Daniel C. Tosteson
unconscious. I have brought my need 10 seconds to assessyour own anxiety '49, dean ofthe FacultyofMedicine.
to stayhuman into myworkin our level before pumping on a chest. Dean Tosteson devotes the middle of
pre-admission test area, where anxious I applaud the Bulletin'spublication his letter to—a celebration ofthe diver-
patientswelcome myverbal ministra- ofthis article and hope to see more sityatHA-IS both ofstudents and fac-
tions. I have also channeled this need articles on howwe teach students and ulty. Hewrites "The incomingclass of
into action bysuccessfullylaunching a residents the value ofretaining their 1998 is the most diverse ever... The
newsletter for my alumni/ae organiza- humanity in practice environments School is greatlyenriched by this
tion (Boston University School of that seem to be more interested in out- diversity, and we take pride in know-
Medicine). The drivingforce behind comes and economics than retaining ing thatwe are a beacon for top stu-
the newsletter is to explore how our the "tender, lovingcare" aspects of dents who come from ever\^walkof
alumni/ae have answered this question. medicine. fife."
Is reflection on the physician's need MatyKraft Sadly, it seems to me, and I believe
to stay in touch with his or her AnesthesiaAledicalDirector, MGH Dr. Glowa might agree, that the
humanity a developmental phase of notion ofdiversit\^at HAIS means tak-
being40-something, ofcoming ofage ing "top students who come from
in the 1960s, or ofacknowledging a everywalkoflife" and ensuringthat
call to our innermostspirits, which they all turn out the same.
HarvardMedical^^jlumni Bulletin
1
It has been threeyears since I left ate and potentiallyoffensive to our Schweitzer, who gave up a numberof
private practice tojoin the facultyin pluralistic religious community. My promisingcareers in order to practice
the Department ofEmergency concern is the unnecessarily nihilistic medicine in an African jungle. In a
Medicine atJohns Hopkins Universit)' approach taken byHupert, et. al., in paean to Schweitzer, Norman Cousins
School ofMedicine. Did it really take which possible dependence on "divine says, "Albert Schweitzer is a spiritual
IDyears for me to learn that emer- support" is transmuted into "focus on immortal. We can be glad thatthis is
gencymedicine is a legitimate field of the secular issues." Iwould choose to so. Each age has need ofits saints. A
study? focus on spiritualit)^and spiritual saint becomes a saintwhen he is
Tempiisfiigitimi est, indeed! realms ofdiscourse, rather than on claimed bymanymen as tlieir own,
EdivardS. Bessynan '8 gods and religion. when he awakens in them a desire to
The spiriuial facets ofpeople's lives know the best that is in them, and the
Theschoolhasjustadoptedaproposal must be addressed in health care so desire to soar morally."
to initiatea division ofemergencyniedi- thatwe can indeed practice in a whole- Finally, I would suggest to Hupert,
cine, whosepmposewillbetocoordinate person centered manner. The seminal et. al., thattheycould initiate their
teaching, researchandpatientcare in this quotation given to me in myfirstyear oath with the phrase, "I do solemnlv
fieldamongtheschoolanditsaffiliated at ILMS was by Francis W. Peabody: swear bywhatever I hold most
—
hospitals. Eds. "One ofthe essential qualities ofthe sacred..."This would not only be
clinician is interest in humanit\', for inoffensive to any specific religious
Morein an Oath the secret ofthe care ofthe patientis group, butwould also provide a sacred
Mypleasure in reading theAlumni in caring forthe patient." undergirding to theiroath. This could
Bulletinwas greatlyenhanced by find- In his bookPatientasPerson, Paul set the stage for physicians to "soar
ingthe article byNathaniel Hupert Ramsey points to the spiritual nature morally" in the care ofpatients as
'94entitled "VMiat's in an Oath" ofpatients: "Just as man is a sacredness whole persons.
(Autumn 1994). As a student and in the social and political order, so he Thomas C. Washbiim '57
teacherofmedical ethics for almost 20 is a sacredness in the natural, biologi-
years, I have collected oaths and codes cal order. He is a sacredness in bodily
enunciated byvarious health profes- life. He is a person whowithin the
sional groups. In 1976 I facihtated the ambiance ofthe flesh claims our care.
creation ofan oath by the graduating He is an embodied soul or ensouled
Child Health Associate students at the body." Ramsey avers that the practice
Universit\' ofColorado Health ofmedicine is a covenant in which
Sciences Center in Denver. physician and patient relate faithfully
I applaud the creators ofthe oath to each other.
that is presented in Hupert's article. WTiat I wantto highlight in this
Ofspecial meritwas Hupert's explica- letter is the shiftingparadigm in health
tion ofthe oath, with an emphasis on care from a dualistic, mechanistic,
"humane education offuture doctors" reductionistic model ot patients to a
and "virtues they should cherish in biopsychosocial model, which treats
themselves." patients as whole persons. Matthew Erratum:
There is an area ofhuman experi- Fox, in his recent book, The Dueto last-minute rushing, the
ence thathas deliberatelybeen omit- Reinvention ofWork, opens ourvision Bulletinincorrectly identified
ted bythe authors ofthis oath; namely, with the notion, "Aveteran in his pro- Elena Martinezin a photofrom
"references to God, gods or other reli- fession was suggestingthatwere we to thewomen'sdinner in the
gious figures." Certainly I would not rediscover the sacredness ofthe body, Autumn '94 issue. The photois
have us return to invokingApollo, ourmedical profession could become ofCheryl White '97. We apolo-
Asclepius, Hygieia and Panaceia to less competitive, less greedy, and less gizeforanyconfusion this may
begin the oath. I agree with Hupert's expensive. The keyis beginningwith havecaused.
position thatto invoke anyexplicitly the sense ofjoyand sacredness."
religious images would be inappropri- One ofmy medical heroes is Albert
Winter
1995
Pulse
KirksBecomes Kirkpatrick Professor andChildren is currently in its second BuildingBridgeson Mental Health
Donald Kirks, radiologist-in-chief at edition. WTien a final blueprint for a reformed
Children's Hospital, has been named At the reception. Kirks described health care system surfaces, those
the first recipient oftheJohn A. his plans to strengthen the radiology charged with providing and overseeing
Kirkpatrick Professorship in department at Children's through mental health resources hope their
Radiology. The chair, established in emphasizing the importance ofteach- patients will be adequately funded. To
March, is funded by Children's ingand research. He is eager to have insure that communication pathways
Hospital. the staffat Children's begin "setting remain open between Washington and
Kirkpatrick, who died in May after frontiers" in pediatric radiology. mental health care facilities and ser\ace
a longillness, was chairman ofthe "This is certainlymy proudest aca- programs, the "Bridges" program of
Department ofRadiologyat demic moment," Kirks said. "But there the DepartmentofHealth Care Policy
Children's Hospital from 1974 until is a responsibilitythatgoes with that, a brought together senior government
his retirement in 1992. He was highly responsibilityto the tradition ofexcel- policymakers and academics in
regarded forhis skills as a diagnosti- lence thatJohn setup in this depart- December to discuss the issues and to
cian and for his excellence as a teacher. ment. It's difficultto follow a legend." plan for the future.
Kirks succeeded Kirkpatrick as Howard Goldman '74, professorof
radiologist-in-chiefat Children's. psychiatry and director ofMental
Kirks is a specialist in the research of Health Services Research at the
emergency chestradiologyofinfants UniversityofMaryland School of
and children, and in the evaluation of Medicine in Baltimore, delineated the
chest masses and abdominal imaging. key debate by highlighting the pecu-
He has written more than 220 papers larities in fundingmental health ser-
and his textbookPracticalPediatric vices, which isolate mental health from
bnaging: DiagnosticRadiology ofInfants other disease categories: one-third of
the fundingcomes from state and local
DonaldKirks
HarvardMedicalAlumni Bulletin
expenditures, the majority'offunding the prize." This means, he continued, to governors," saidThomas Romeo,
is private, and a "huge differentiation thatstates absorb this cost, but in executive in residence atthe
offunction" exists. order to paytheir bills, they must UniversityofRhode Island. "Partof
—
His pointwas further clarified by engage in "cost-shifting" a pea- the objective we should have in this
ThomasMcGuire, professorin the under-the-nutshuffle game where Bridges group is to get policyi"nakers
DepartmentofEconomics atBoston state mental health agencies reappro- interested in the issue."
University. The problem, he said, is priate federal funds forpurposes for
thatthe majorit)"ofthose usingambu- which thevweren't intended.
lator}- mental health services do not fit The afternoon was devoted to pol-
into disease categories. This discrep- icy makers from different states dis-
ancy "highlights a problem ifgeneral cussingwhat works and what doesn't
workers are paying for serv'ices used in their states. In New Hampshire, a
disproportionatelybya few upper "cit\' disguised as a state,"where
income individuals." Thomas Fox is medical directorofthe
The round table around which di\nsion ofmental health, there is a
decision makers were sitting easily real attitude ofpartnership, he said,
facilitated dispute on this issue, by turning a phrase on the state's motto:
which one participant argued that 80 "In mental health, ifyou tr\- to live
percent ofthese patients missed a free, you die."
DSM-llI diagnosis byone symptom. But Due south, Annette Hanson, IIMS
thiswas only the beginning, as several lecturer on psychiatry and dcput\'
issues surroundingterms like carve- commissioner for clinical and profes-
outs, capitation, something called "soft sional senices h)r the Massachusetts
capitation," utilization control and cost Department ofIlealth, discussed how
sharing and block grants sparked herstaffconducted focus groups of
debate throughout the day. patients in the system to determine
No one denied that mental health whattheyliked and didn't like, and
care is expensive and multi-faceted. then tried to fit policy and program-
"Mental health/substance abuse users mingaccordingly. In this state, said
are bad risks in an insurance sense," Hanson, comprehensive community-
saidMcGuire. In addition, the most support systems complement acute
severelyaffected also weigh down soci- care ser\-ices.
ety'with othercosts, such as housing WTiile much ofthe talk seemed dis-
or criminal costs. The arguments are concerting, especially in light of
who pays and how, who assumes more President Clinton's soundlydefeated
—
risk the insurance companies, the Health Securit)-Act, Ellen Shaffer,
—
providers or the patients and who legislative assistant from the office of
—
receives services those who really SenatorPaul D. Wellstone and the
need them or those who can afford Senate WorkingGroup on Mental
them? These are the dilemmas imbed- Health, voiced optimism aboutwhat
ded within what Richard Frank, RMS had been accomplished. "There was an
professor ofhealth economics in the acceptance byleaders in Congress that
Department ofHealth Care Polic)', mental health is important."The fact
called the "murkyarea" ofmanaged that this support was bipartisan, she
care. said, suggested thatsome ofthe stigma
"The prize in this game, and it's a attached to issues ofmental health had
negative prize, is who gets to payfor been assuaged.
the psych hospital," said McGuire. "There is a good opportunity to
"The Fed moved first to not pay for feed information from groups like this
Winter 1995
1
Pulse RachelRohde,HST
Society(left)andAnn
Chen,HolmesSociety.
You'veComea LongWay, Baby
"I never thought I'd see this in my life-
time," said Eleanor Shore '55, dean for
facultyaffairs, when she heard the
news. "I absolutelycould not have pre-
dicted this." She wasn't talking about a
cure for cancer, a space mission to part ofa national progression towards HMS professors are women while 4.9
Mars or some other equally futuristic diversifying the halls ofmedical educa- percent are minorit}\ "Harvard
accomplishment. Shore was remarking tion. Yale,Johns Hopkins and George Medical School has been steadfastly
on the incomingclass ofHarvard Washington medical schools all committed to affirmative action, to the
Medical School. announced that their incomingclasses recruitment ofstudents drawn from
.\n unprecedented number of in 1994 have female majorities, while segments ofsocietx" not adequatelv
women and minorities compose the nationwide women make up roughly represented in medicine," said Dean
Class of 1998: ofthe 170 incoming 40 percentofthe 67,000 medical stu- Daniel Tosteson '49. "WTiile we take
students, 89 arewomen and 88 are dents currentdyenrolled. some modest pride in this accomplish-
nonwhite (45 are Asian American, 3 Shore's surprise was well founded. ment, we mustnot forgetthe need to
are African American and 6 are In her day, 7 percent ofHAIS classes be equally dedicated to the goal of
Latino). were women: "We were still part of similar diversit}' ofour faculty."
"Itshows the changing patterns of the lo-year experiment," she said. PLMS students come from around
American society, and the willingness That experiment had begun sixyears the countr\' and around the world. For
ofHarvard Medical School to notonly earlierwhen 12 women were permit- the loth straightyear, Californians
go with the flow, butto actively take ted to enter the Class of 1949. and NewYorkers make up the largest
part," said Alvin Poussaint, faculty The next challenge, ofcourse, is to percentage ofincomingstudents. The
associate dean forstudent affairs. create a facultywith an equallyimpres- farthestaway from home, nationally,
This class has created quite a stir, sive representation ofwomen and comes from Hawaii, w^hile internation-
not just locallybut nationally. HAIS is minorities. Currently 7.1 percent of ally, students come from as far away as
KristinUpchurch,
PeabodySociety(left)
andRashelFeinstein,
CastleSociety.
HarvardMedicalAlumni Bulletin