Mtthew Walker, Sr, MD, FACS, FICS 1 906.1 978 W. Montague Cobb, MD Editor Emeritus Washington, DC
This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Hamlet, Act I, Scene III
A Man of Quality Dr. Matthew Walker was revered as a hero by the large circle who knew him, in the Nashville community and beyond, because he was always true to himself. The late professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery and provost for external affairs at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, had a straightforward directness in all things which bespoke the character that enlisted a universal trust and con-
fidence. We may gain an insight from a statement on the videotape devoted to him in the "Leaders of American Medicine" series, produced jointly by the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the National Library of Medicine. Dr. Walker said surgery had appealed to him as a branch of medicine because it was concrete and definite-when a part offended, it could be cut out. To have been included in this historical videotape series was in itself evidence of the esteem in which he was held nationally. (To date, only 39 American physicians have been so documented.)
Matty was born poor and always identified himself with the poor, although he could easily have acquired modest wealth and the trappings of the smug, upwardly mobile middle class had he desired. The many honors which came with the recognition of his work and worth left him unaffected. His security was spiritual and had come when he was very young. Physically large and rugged, his appearance of forceful personality was enhanced by the big cigars to which he became habituated. Yet this did not mask a warm sense of humor and quiet personal charm. He was a thoroughly wholesome person who loved the outdoors. He was fond of tramping the fields around Nashville with a few friends and his gun and dogs. He also liked to fish. But he cared little about his skill as a huntsman or an angler for his reward was in the roaming and the sport. In the home, he was an informal and genial host and his hospitality was always enhanced by the abundant offices of his gracious wife Alice. A lesser man could not have inspired the innumerable and varied attentions he received from colleagues, staff, relatives, and friends during his prolonged stay at the new Tower Hospital during his terminal illness. His room had been made to look like a home. Although he "knew the score," his fortitude never wavered. In peace, he departed this life on July 15, 1978.
Waterproof to Meharry Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. W. Montague Cobb, 1219 Girard Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009.
Dr. Walker was born in Waterproof, Louisiana, on December 7, 1906. His
JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 71, NO. 5; 1979
father was a Pullman porter and his mother was a domestic employee. His parents moved to New Orleans when he was small. There he attended grammar school, and high school at the Gilbert Academy. He received the AB with honors from New Orleans (now Dillard) University in 1929 and Meharry Medical College awarded him the MD, again with honors, in 1934. He served his internship at Meharry's Hubbard Hospital the following year, and entered into the surgical pursuits which were to occupy the remainder of his career. His wagon was already hitched to a star.
Surgical Training Dr. Walker wanted his background in surgery to be impeccably solid. He regularly determined for himself what training he needed, and quietly, without ado, acquired it. Following his internship, he remained at Hubbard Hospital for three years, 1935-1938, as a resident in surgery and gynecology. Meharry's faculty manpower needs at that time were such that Dr. Walker had the opportunity to reinforce his training in the basic sciences, an essential for a surgeon. Thus, while a resident, he served as an instructor in anatomy from 1935-1938, and as an instructor in surgery, gynecology, orthopedics, anesthesia, and eye, ear, nose, and throat from 1936-1938. He spent the year 1938-1939 at Howard University for advanced training in surgery under Dr. Edward L. Howes, the professor and head of the Department of Surgery. Upon returning to Meharry in 1939, he was appointed as505
sistant professor of surgery and gynecology, a position held until 1942. But he realized in 1939 that he still needed more basic science review and so served as instructor in physiology from 1939-1941, and as instructor in pathology from 1941-1943. Dr. Walker was promoted to associate professor of surgery and gynecology in 1942 and to full professor and acting chairman of the Department in 1944. He became chairman in 1945, and held that post until 1973. It was good fortune for him that his school was short-handed at the time because the teaching opportunities thus afforded consolidated his basic work for surgery. He had recognized early that the good teacher learns more than the student and Dr. Walker was a good teacher, never verbose or dogmaticone who enjoyed dialogue with students. He had had the advantage of a broader and more generalized surgical experience than would be possible today. As surgeon and gynecologist he was able to range over the entire peritoneal cavity without the current artificial distinction between the abdominal and pelvic cavities. The urologist's field was not foreign to him. (Indeed, the kidneys ascend out of the pelvis to their adult position.) Nor was he barred from the lower end of the gut, now the area of the proctologist. This writer cannot forget a morning in the fall of 1938 at Howard when, at the first session of the medical class in embryology, he noted a young man sitting in the rear who did not look like a freshman student. He was there promptly at 8 AM for several sessions thereafter, still unidentified. When finally questioned about his identity, Dr. Walker explained that he was on leave from Meharry and spending a year in advanced study of surgery under Dr. Howes on a General Education Board fellowship. He said he needed to strengthen his knowledge of embryology and thought he would audit the course. He never missed a session, but did not volunteer to take the examinations. This is the kind of initiative he displayed when he wanted to fill a gap. Dr. Walker became a diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners in 1935 and a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery in 1946. In 1947, he became a fellow of the International College of Surgeons, and, in 1950, a fellow of the American College of 506
Surgeons. His credentials as a surgeon were thus flawless. It might be worth noting that all his education and training were obtained in black institutions and his entire career was spent under the aegis of his medical alma mater. Dr. Walker was a staff or consultant surgeon at all Nashville Hospitals, and in 1970 was appointed a clinical professor of surgery at Vanderbilt University. He was also a consultant surgeon for the Veterans Administration Hospital at Tuskegee, Alabama.
Administration The work and challenges at Meharry required Dr. Walker to assume various administrative responsibilities. In 1948, he became coordinator of the Cancer Teaching Program and served in that capacity until his last illness. He twice served on Interim Committees, which operated the College pending the selection of a new president during 1950-1952 and 1955-1956. He was assistant dean of the School of Medicine for 17 years, 1952-1969, and associate dean for four years, 1969-1973. He had been provost for external affairs since 1973.
Residency Program The establishment of a fully accredited residency training program was one of Dr. Walker's early responsibilities as chairman of the Department of Surgery. There is an impressive list of physicians who have become board-certified under this program. In 1958, his trainees, then numbering over 70, formed the Matthew Walker Surgical Society "for promulgation of his ideals and advancement of dissemination of surgical knowledge." A statement by Dr. Dorothy Brown, presently chief of surgery at Riverside Hospital and clinical professor at Meharry, and a former member of the Tennessee State Legislature, -is also significant. She acknowledges with pride that Dr. Walker "over the protest of many of his colleagues trained her as the first black women surgeon in the South." She further said, "Dr. Walker had confidence in me and accepted me when I could not get accepted anywhere else. One of the mandates of my professional career has been not to disappoint or let the 'Chief down." It must have been a pleasant reflection for Dr. Walker, on his retirement as professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery in 1973, to note JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL
that his successor, Dr. Louis J. Bernard, was also one of his students.' Dr. Walker encouraged research by staff members and residents. Their interests were in wound healing, peritonitis and penicillin, experimental and clinical oncology, and vascular surgery. Many of their papers have been published in the Journal of the National Medical Association.
Community Health Center For many years, Meharry has had a concerned involvement with the problems of community health, both urban and rural. Dr. Walker was a prime moving spirit in this involvement. In 1947, he declined the post of chief surgeon at Taborian Hospital, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, because of the demands of his own residency training program. However, he did offer to direct the surgical service there through qualified physicians from his own program on a rotating basis, an offer accepted and implemented through a formal agreement between Meharry and Taborian. Meharry was thus involved in urban health through its own Department of Community Medicine under Dr. Leslie A. Falk, and in rural health through the Mound Bayou program headed by Dr. Walker. The long history of the Mound Bayou hospital's activity in rural health care delivery brought it an Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) grant. The institution was renamed the Mound Bayou Community Hospital. Meharry President Harold D. West appointed a committee, of which Dr. Walker was chairman, to develop a program for health care for the urban and rural disadvantaged. The Meharry Trustees approved the plan submitted, which involved a cooperative agreement between Tufts Medical Center in Boston and Mound Bayou through which an urban facility would be built in Nashville. The planning grant was awarded by OEO in 1966. When the Meharry Neighborhood Health Center was completed in 1969, the Consumers Council requested of Meharry that it be named the Matthew Walker Health Center in recognition of his many contributions in that area. The Center was dedicated on March 7, 1970.
Recognitions As Dr. Walker progressively grew in stature he did not seek to obtrude upon MEDICAL
ASSOCIATION, VOL. 71, NO. 5, 1979
the higher reaches of the medical Establishment. The Establishment came to him. In an address to the American College of Surgeons in 1970, Dr. Daniel H. Funkenstein of Harvard Medical School stated, "It might be pertinent at this point to call attention to a surgeon who has had a Community Era attitude toward surgery for many years. Dr. Matthew Walker, this year's recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award of the National Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers, is such a man. Here is an example of a surgeon involved in delivering care and showing a true pioneer spirit long before the present emphasis began." In 1956 Dr. Walker performed surgery and demonstrated the use of radioactive gold in the treatment of cancer on the nationally televised program "Medical Horizons," and in 1973 his film on surgery for gastric carcinoma was one of six selected for
showing at the cine Clinic of the American College of Surgeons. He served as 54th president of the National Medical Association in 19541955 and was its 14th Distinguished Service Medalist in 1959. In 1973 he was named National Omega Man of the Year by the Omega Psi Phi fraternity and was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Sigma Pi Phi fraternity. He held responsible posts on important boards and committees, local and national, which are too numerous to list; he also received many awards saluting his activities across the broad spectrum of his life. His wife, Alice Johnson Walker, was a devoted and constant support. They had four children: two daughters, Dr. Charlotte Rose Walker (who continues the family medical tradition) and Mrs. Maxine Walker Giddings, and two sons, Matthew, Jr, and Daniel Phillip.
There are four grandchildren. They all share a priceless heritage. During the 28 years this writer edited the Journial, it was possible to pay tribute to many outstanding figures and developments at Meharry.2 Yet, none stands taller than Matthew Walker. His stature will grow in the lengthening corridors of time-we shall not see his like again.
Acknowledgement The author is deeply grateful to Dr. Calvin C. Sampson and Dr. Marvin Jackson for their care-
ful review of this tribute.
Literature Cited 1. Chirurgical chairmanships change. J Natl Med Assoc (66)528-529, 1974 2. The New Meharry Number, J NatI Med Assoc, July 1973; The Harold D. West Basic Sciences Center Number, J Natl Med Assoc, July 1976; Meharry Centennial Number, J Natl Med Assoc, November, 1976
A Tribute to Matthew Walker-Surgeon Louis J. Bernard, MD Nashville, Tennessee
This issue of the Journal is dedicated, with affection, to Dr. Matthew Walker. To surgeons of my generation who are black, there is no need to elaborate on why he holds a special place among American surgeons. Younger surgeons, however, are frequently uncertain as to the basis for the esteem in which so many of their colleagues hold "The Chief." This note is addressed primarily to them. In March of 1944, when Matthew Walker suddenly became chairman of the Department of Surgery at Meharry's School of Medicine, he found himself heir to a troublesome new role. His predecessor, John Hale, had become a full-time faculty member only a few years before and had trained few
From the Department of Surgery, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. Louis J. Bernard, Department of Surgery, Meharry Medical College, 1005 18th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37208.
potential successors. There were no blacks certified by the American Board of Surgery, no blacks who were Fellows of the American College of Surgeons, and very few places where an aspiring black had a reasonable hope of obtaining first-rate surgical training. In this milieu, Matthew Walker proceeded to learn about the current state of the art in surgical practice and education by visiting the leading surgical centers of the country (at his own expense) and enlisting the support of colleagues across the country for his surgical program. He structured a graduate residency program acceptable to the American Board of Surgery and recruited to this program the best students he could find. His adage that "the student never flunks-the teacher fails to teach him" could not apply to his residents. There, in light of his teaching ability, the adages applicable in case of a problem situation had to be "you can't carve rotten wood" and "you can't make silk purses out of sows' ears." He took and
JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 71, NO. 5, 1979
passed the certifying examination of the American Board of Surgery and became one of the first blacks inducted into Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons. Graduates of his surgical residency program were uniformly encouraged (and maybe occasionally browbeaten) into additional training, which he assisted them in obtaining. He did this in the hope that there would be no dearth of well trained and properly motivated surgeons to assist him in building a strong department, in improving surgical care for blacks, and ultimately in succeeding him in those tasks. The degree of Dr. Walker's success in these efforts is documented elsewhere in this issue (see Dr. Charles Brown's article). To the younger surgeons who are not acquainted with the paucity of opportunity in American surgery in the 1940s and 1950s must be brought the fact that Matthew Walker's accomplishment is the more remarkable in that he did it largely alone. 507
This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Hamlet, Act I, Scene III
A Man of Quality Dr. Matthew Walker was revered as a hero by the large circle who knew him, in the Nashville community and beyond, because he was always true to himself. The late professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery and provost for external affairs at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, had a straightforward directness in all things which bespoke the character that enlisted a universal trust and con-
fidence. We may gain an insight from a statement on the videotape devoted to him in the "Leaders of American Medicine" series, produced jointly by the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the National Library of Medicine. Dr. Walker said surgery had appealed to him as a branch of medicine because it was concrete and definite-when a part offended, it could be cut out. To have been included in this historical videotape series was in itself evidence of the esteem in which he was held nationally. (To date, only 39 American physicians have been so documented.)
Matty was born poor and always identified himself with the poor, although he could easily have acquired modest wealth and the trappings of the smug, upwardly mobile middle class had he desired. The many honors which came with the recognition of his work and worth left him unaffected. His security was spiritual and had come when he was very young. Physically large and rugged, his appearance of forceful personality was enhanced by the big cigars to which he became habituated. Yet this did not mask a warm sense of humor and quiet personal charm. He was a thoroughly wholesome person who loved the outdoors. He was fond of tramping the fields around Nashville with a few friends and his gun and dogs. He also liked to fish. But he cared little about his skill as a huntsman or an angler for his reward was in the roaming and the sport. In the home, he was an informal and genial host and his hospitality was always enhanced by the abundant offices of his gracious wife Alice. A lesser man could not have inspired the innumerable and varied attentions he received from colleagues, staff, relatives, and friends during his prolonged stay at the new Tower Hospital during his terminal illness. His room had been made to look like a home. Although he "knew the score," his fortitude never wavered. In peace, he departed this life on July 15, 1978.
Waterproof to Meharry Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. W. Montague Cobb, 1219 Girard Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009.
Dr. Walker was born in Waterproof, Louisiana, on December 7, 1906. His
JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 71, NO. 5; 1979
father was a Pullman porter and his mother was a domestic employee. His parents moved to New Orleans when he was small. There he attended grammar school, and high school at the Gilbert Academy. He received the AB with honors from New Orleans (now Dillard) University in 1929 and Meharry Medical College awarded him the MD, again with honors, in 1934. He served his internship at Meharry's Hubbard Hospital the following year, and entered into the surgical pursuits which were to occupy the remainder of his career. His wagon was already hitched to a star.
Surgical Training Dr. Walker wanted his background in surgery to be impeccably solid. He regularly determined for himself what training he needed, and quietly, without ado, acquired it. Following his internship, he remained at Hubbard Hospital for three years, 1935-1938, as a resident in surgery and gynecology. Meharry's faculty manpower needs at that time were such that Dr. Walker had the opportunity to reinforce his training in the basic sciences, an essential for a surgeon. Thus, while a resident, he served as an instructor in anatomy from 1935-1938, and as an instructor in surgery, gynecology, orthopedics, anesthesia, and eye, ear, nose, and throat from 1936-1938. He spent the year 1938-1939 at Howard University for advanced training in surgery under Dr. Edward L. Howes, the professor and head of the Department of Surgery. Upon returning to Meharry in 1939, he was appointed as505
sistant professor of surgery and gynecology, a position held until 1942. But he realized in 1939 that he still needed more basic science review and so served as instructor in physiology from 1939-1941, and as instructor in pathology from 1941-1943. Dr. Walker was promoted to associate professor of surgery and gynecology in 1942 and to full professor and acting chairman of the Department in 1944. He became chairman in 1945, and held that post until 1973. It was good fortune for him that his school was short-handed at the time because the teaching opportunities thus afforded consolidated his basic work for surgery. He had recognized early that the good teacher learns more than the student and Dr. Walker was a good teacher, never verbose or dogmaticone who enjoyed dialogue with students. He had had the advantage of a broader and more generalized surgical experience than would be possible today. As surgeon and gynecologist he was able to range over the entire peritoneal cavity without the current artificial distinction between the abdominal and pelvic cavities. The urologist's field was not foreign to him. (Indeed, the kidneys ascend out of the pelvis to their adult position.) Nor was he barred from the lower end of the gut, now the area of the proctologist. This writer cannot forget a morning in the fall of 1938 at Howard when, at the first session of the medical class in embryology, he noted a young man sitting in the rear who did not look like a freshman student. He was there promptly at 8 AM for several sessions thereafter, still unidentified. When finally questioned about his identity, Dr. Walker explained that he was on leave from Meharry and spending a year in advanced study of surgery under Dr. Howes on a General Education Board fellowship. He said he needed to strengthen his knowledge of embryology and thought he would audit the course. He never missed a session, but did not volunteer to take the examinations. This is the kind of initiative he displayed when he wanted to fill a gap. Dr. Walker became a diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners in 1935 and a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery in 1946. In 1947, he became a fellow of the International College of Surgeons, and, in 1950, a fellow of the American College of 506
Surgeons. His credentials as a surgeon were thus flawless. It might be worth noting that all his education and training were obtained in black institutions and his entire career was spent under the aegis of his medical alma mater. Dr. Walker was a staff or consultant surgeon at all Nashville Hospitals, and in 1970 was appointed a clinical professor of surgery at Vanderbilt University. He was also a consultant surgeon for the Veterans Administration Hospital at Tuskegee, Alabama.
Administration The work and challenges at Meharry required Dr. Walker to assume various administrative responsibilities. In 1948, he became coordinator of the Cancer Teaching Program and served in that capacity until his last illness. He twice served on Interim Committees, which operated the College pending the selection of a new president during 1950-1952 and 1955-1956. He was assistant dean of the School of Medicine for 17 years, 1952-1969, and associate dean for four years, 1969-1973. He had been provost for external affairs since 1973.
Residency Program The establishment of a fully accredited residency training program was one of Dr. Walker's early responsibilities as chairman of the Department of Surgery. There is an impressive list of physicians who have become board-certified under this program. In 1958, his trainees, then numbering over 70, formed the Matthew Walker Surgical Society "for promulgation of his ideals and advancement of dissemination of surgical knowledge." A statement by Dr. Dorothy Brown, presently chief of surgery at Riverside Hospital and clinical professor at Meharry, and a former member of the Tennessee State Legislature, -is also significant. She acknowledges with pride that Dr. Walker "over the protest of many of his colleagues trained her as the first black women surgeon in the South." She further said, "Dr. Walker had confidence in me and accepted me when I could not get accepted anywhere else. One of the mandates of my professional career has been not to disappoint or let the 'Chief down." It must have been a pleasant reflection for Dr. Walker, on his retirement as professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery in 1973, to note JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL
that his successor, Dr. Louis J. Bernard, was also one of his students.' Dr. Walker encouraged research by staff members and residents. Their interests were in wound healing, peritonitis and penicillin, experimental and clinical oncology, and vascular surgery. Many of their papers have been published in the Journal of the National Medical Association.
Community Health Center For many years, Meharry has had a concerned involvement with the problems of community health, both urban and rural. Dr. Walker was a prime moving spirit in this involvement. In 1947, he declined the post of chief surgeon at Taborian Hospital, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, because of the demands of his own residency training program. However, he did offer to direct the surgical service there through qualified physicians from his own program on a rotating basis, an offer accepted and implemented through a formal agreement between Meharry and Taborian. Meharry was thus involved in urban health through its own Department of Community Medicine under Dr. Leslie A. Falk, and in rural health through the Mound Bayou program headed by Dr. Walker. The long history of the Mound Bayou hospital's activity in rural health care delivery brought it an Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) grant. The institution was renamed the Mound Bayou Community Hospital. Meharry President Harold D. West appointed a committee, of which Dr. Walker was chairman, to develop a program for health care for the urban and rural disadvantaged. The Meharry Trustees approved the plan submitted, which involved a cooperative agreement between Tufts Medical Center in Boston and Mound Bayou through which an urban facility would be built in Nashville. The planning grant was awarded by OEO in 1966. When the Meharry Neighborhood Health Center was completed in 1969, the Consumers Council requested of Meharry that it be named the Matthew Walker Health Center in recognition of his many contributions in that area. The Center was dedicated on March 7, 1970.
Recognitions As Dr. Walker progressively grew in stature he did not seek to obtrude upon MEDICAL
ASSOCIATION, VOL. 71, NO. 5, 1979
the higher reaches of the medical Establishment. The Establishment came to him. In an address to the American College of Surgeons in 1970, Dr. Daniel H. Funkenstein of Harvard Medical School stated, "It might be pertinent at this point to call attention to a surgeon who has had a Community Era attitude toward surgery for many years. Dr. Matthew Walker, this year's recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award of the National Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers, is such a man. Here is an example of a surgeon involved in delivering care and showing a true pioneer spirit long before the present emphasis began." In 1956 Dr. Walker performed surgery and demonstrated the use of radioactive gold in the treatment of cancer on the nationally televised program "Medical Horizons," and in 1973 his film on surgery for gastric carcinoma was one of six selected for
showing at the cine Clinic of the American College of Surgeons. He served as 54th president of the National Medical Association in 19541955 and was its 14th Distinguished Service Medalist in 1959. In 1973 he was named National Omega Man of the Year by the Omega Psi Phi fraternity and was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Sigma Pi Phi fraternity. He held responsible posts on important boards and committees, local and national, which are too numerous to list; he also received many awards saluting his activities across the broad spectrum of his life. His wife, Alice Johnson Walker, was a devoted and constant support. They had four children: two daughters, Dr. Charlotte Rose Walker (who continues the family medical tradition) and Mrs. Maxine Walker Giddings, and two sons, Matthew, Jr, and Daniel Phillip.
There are four grandchildren. They all share a priceless heritage. During the 28 years this writer edited the Journial, it was possible to pay tribute to many outstanding figures and developments at Meharry.2 Yet, none stands taller than Matthew Walker. His stature will grow in the lengthening corridors of time-we shall not see his like again.
Acknowledgement The author is deeply grateful to Dr. Calvin C. Sampson and Dr. Marvin Jackson for their care-
ful review of this tribute.
Literature Cited 1. Chirurgical chairmanships change. J Natl Med Assoc (66)528-529, 1974 2. The New Meharry Number, J NatI Med Assoc, July 1973; The Harold D. West Basic Sciences Center Number, J Natl Med Assoc, July 1976; Meharry Centennial Number, J Natl Med Assoc, November, 1976
A Tribute to Matthew Walker-Surgeon Louis J. Bernard, MD Nashville, Tennessee
This issue of the Journal is dedicated, with affection, to Dr. Matthew Walker. To surgeons of my generation who are black, there is no need to elaborate on why he holds a special place among American surgeons. Younger surgeons, however, are frequently uncertain as to the basis for the esteem in which so many of their colleagues hold "The Chief." This note is addressed primarily to them. In March of 1944, when Matthew Walker suddenly became chairman of the Department of Surgery at Meharry's School of Medicine, he found himself heir to a troublesome new role. His predecessor, John Hale, had become a full-time faculty member only a few years before and had trained few
From the Department of Surgery, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. Louis J. Bernard, Department of Surgery, Meharry Medical College, 1005 18th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37208.
potential successors. There were no blacks certified by the American Board of Surgery, no blacks who were Fellows of the American College of Surgeons, and very few places where an aspiring black had a reasonable hope of obtaining first-rate surgical training. In this milieu, Matthew Walker proceeded to learn about the current state of the art in surgical practice and education by visiting the leading surgical centers of the country (at his own expense) and enlisting the support of colleagues across the country for his surgical program. He structured a graduate residency program acceptable to the American Board of Surgery and recruited to this program the best students he could find. His adage that "the student never flunks-the teacher fails to teach him" could not apply to his residents. There, in light of his teaching ability, the adages applicable in case of a problem situation had to be "you can't carve rotten wood" and "you can't make silk purses out of sows' ears." He took and
JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, VOL. 71, NO. 5, 1979
passed the certifying examination of the American Board of Surgery and became one of the first blacks inducted into Fellowship in the American College of Surgeons. Graduates of his surgical residency program were uniformly encouraged (and maybe occasionally browbeaten) into additional training, which he assisted them in obtaining. He did this in the hope that there would be no dearth of well trained and properly motivated surgeons to assist him in building a strong department, in improving surgical care for blacks, and ultimately in succeeding him in those tasks. The degree of Dr. Walker's success in these efforts is documented elsewhere in this issue (see Dr. Charles Brown's article). To the younger surgeons who are not acquainted with the paucity of opportunity in American surgery in the 1940s and 1950s must be brought the fact that Matthew Walker's accomplishment is the more remarkable in that he did it largely alone. 507
