Courtesy Daily News Record
HARRISONBURG 鈥� Joseph Martin, a native of Canada and 黑料正能量 graduate, credits a firm foun颅dation in reality, tempered with plenty of humor, as the cornerstone of his tenure as head of one the nation鈥檚 most prestigious medical schools.
Martin shared nearly 50 years of medical school wit and wisdom with about 75 people at Eastern Mennonite Univer颅sity Tuesday evening. His visit was the kickoff of a tour to support his new book, 鈥淎lfalfa to Ivy: Memoir of a Harvard Medical School Dean.鈥�
Martin said his interest in medicine was inspired in part by visits from mission颅aries to his childhood church. They shared stories of success, connection and fulfillment in faraway places and he sought to follow in their footsteps.
鈥淎t the age of 16, I arrived in Edmonton to begin studies at the University of Alberta and I was frightened,鈥� said Martin, quoting from his book. 鈥淭he world outside Duchess [Alberta] seemed overwhelm颅ing, the big city huge and for颅bidding. It was vibrant with sophistication I felt I lacked.鈥�
After three years there, including a year of medical school, Martin felt led to make a change. He trans颅ferred to then-Eastern Men颅nonite College to study mu颅sic, church history, ethics and choral conducting.
Degree from Eastern Men颅nonite in Bible in 1959.
鈥淓MC was an exhilarat颅ing place,鈥� Martin continued. 鈥淚 had never seen so many el颅igible Mennonite girls in one place.鈥� The crowd laughed.
Ultimately though, he chose one girl, Rachel Wenger Martin ’61, to be his wife and they鈥檙e still married today.
Martin went on to earn a medical degree from the University of Alberta in 1962 and a doctorate in anatomy from the Univer颅sity of Rochester in 1971.
In his professional ca颅reer, Martin has served as chief of neurology at Mass颅achusetts General Hospi颅tal, dean of the school of medicine and later chan颅cellor of the University of California, San Francisco.
In 1997, he was named dean of the Harvard Facul颅ty of Medicine, a role he held until 2007. Today, he continues at Harvard as an endowed professor of neurobiology.
After his remarks, Mar颅tin responded to questions from the audience. One was what advice would he offer to Congress when it comes to health care reform.
He said in part that the primary care system must be strengthened. That does颅n鈥檛 mean, he said, it鈥檚 time to educate more doctors.
Part of the problem, he explained, is that right now, a patient鈥檚 medical care is spread among so many specialists that it鈥檚 hard to manage.
Responding to another question, Martin also said health care reform legisla颅tion should be anchored in five fundamental principles: accessibility, accuracy, ad颅vice, affability, affordability. 黑料正能量 President Loren Swartzendruber praised Martin鈥檚 insight at a recep颅tion following the program. 鈥淗is wide range of expe颅riences puts him in a posi颅tion to speak with a great deal of authority,鈥� Swartzen颅druber said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 such a genuine person.鈥�
At least one aspiring doctor, 黑料正能量 junior Abigail Carr, came away inspired by Martin鈥檚 talk.
鈥淚t was fascinating to hear all the different in颅sights he鈥檚 had over the course of his life in very relevant topics 鈥� and how it connects to the future,鈥� said Carr, who is studying premedicine and biology.