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Willard C. Rappleye, MD
W. Ann Reynolds, PhD
Alice R. Ring, MD, MPH
John F. Roach, MD
J. Stewart Rodman
Stephen C. Scheiber, MD
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Anne R. Somers
Bruce E. Spivey, MD
Ernest L. Stebbins MD, MPH
Rosemary Stevens, PhD
John S. Strauss, MD
Paul Titus, MD
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Derrick T. Vail Sr, MD
Alexander J. Walt, MD, ChB
Peyton E. Weary, MD
Kevin B. Weiss, MD, MPH
Louis B. Wilson, MD
James E. Youker, MD, FACR
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Willard C. Rappleye, MD (1892-1976)
ABMS President 1937-1944
Dr. Rappleye was one of the founding members of the Advisory Board for Medical Specialties and secured crucial funding to support Board activities. Under Dr. Rappleye’s leadership, the standards for the approval of any new specialty board, the “Essentials for Approval of Examining Boards in Medical Specialties” were established in 1934.
Ever outspoken in his assistance on excellence in training medical students, Dr. Rappleye saw that the future practice of medicine would be directly affected by contemporary social and economic changes. He said these changes would require a physician “to remain a student throughout his entire life if he is to meet the needs of his patients and the community.”
Following his internship at Massachusetts General, he followed his growing interest in administrative medicine by taking up successive leadership posts within the University of California hospital system. He was then appointed Superintendent of the New Haven Hospital. By the time he was in his thirties, Dr. Rappleye had attracted national attention as an authority on hospital management, the training of hospital executives, the accreditation of foreign medical graduates, postgraduate medical specialty training, the hospital’s role in medical training, nursing education and other topics.
Dr. Rappleye was Dean of Columbia University Faculty of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons from 1931 to 1958 and Vice President in charge of medical affairs. During this time, he oversaw a phenomenal growth in the faculty, a six-fold increase in the teaching budget and a 25-fold rise in research funding. He was acclaimed nationally for his initiatives to adapt the medical curriculum to the rapid advances of medical science.
A national leader in academic medicine. Dr. Rappleye wrote 90 articles, several books. One of his writings in particular provided an objective account of his studies on the British health system and advocacy of national voluntary prepaid health insurance. In 1961, he authored the so-called “Rappleye Plan” as a remedial measure to halt the disintegration of services in New York’s municipal hospital system. Developed for the care of patients and the supervision of interns and residents, the plan created a nucleus of salaried full-time clinical and laboratory staffs in hospitals unaffiliated with teaching facilities or medical colleges.
While president of Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation (1941 to 1965), Dr. Rappleye advocated a plan for paid directors for the main hospital services: medicine, surgery, gynecology, obstetrics, radiology and pathology. The plan also included payments for part-time or full-time “key” clinical physicians so that the hospitals eventually would operate under a paid staff, in addition to the free services of attending physicians.
In addition to these roles, Dr. Rappleye held membership in 50 prestigious organizations and leadership of 40 high-level boards and committees. During World War II, Dr. Rappleye was part of the national planning for the training and distribution of physicians and he served as an adviser to the Selective Service. In his later years he was active in advising the government, universities and learned societies.
Dr. Rappleye received his medical degree from Harvard University.
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W. Ann Reynolds, PhD
ABMS Public Member 1989-1999
Dr. Reynolds is currently a Director of Abbott Laboratories, Invitrogen Corporation, Owens-Corning, Humana, Inc. and the News-Gazette, Champaign, Illinois.
Dr. Reynolds served as the President of The University of Alabama at Birmingham from 1997 to 2002 and as Director of its Center for Community Outreach and Development from 2002 through 2003. From 1990 to 1997, Dr. Reynolds served as Chancellor of The City University of New York. Prior to that, she served as Chancellor of The California State University system, provost of The Ohio State University and Associate Vice Chancellor for Desearch and Dean of the Graduate College of the University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago. She also held appointments as Professor of Anatomy, Research Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and acting Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.
Dr. Reynolds received her Bachelor’s degree from Emporia State University in Kansas. She holds MS and PhD degrees in zoology from the University of Iowa.
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Alice R. Ring, MD, MPH
ABMS Distinguished Service Award Recipient 2004
Dr. Ring has been recognized as a leading medical educator in her specialty and significant contributor to specialty medicine in general.
She has had a unique career prior to her involvement in board certification. Dr. Ring was the Assistant Director of Children’s Services in the Utah Department of Health and Medical Director for Project Head Start in Salt Lake City and then decided to take a residency in Preventive Medicine and Public Health. After she completed her residency she went, in 1970, to Berkeley to obtain her Masters of Public Health degree. Thereafter she worked for the United States Public Health Service in San Francisco. Subsequently, she held a serious of important positions with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, culminating as Director of the Preventive Medicine Residency there.
Dr. Ring joined the American Board of Preventive medicine as a Trustee in 1990, became Chair of its Examination Committee in 1991 and served as a Voting Representative to ABMS from 1992 to 1998. During those same years she served as Executive Director of the American Board of Preventive Medicine until her retirement in 1998.
Dr. Ring is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine.
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John F. Roach, MD
15th ABMS President 1974-1975
At the time of his appointment with ABMS, he was Chairman and Professor of Radiology, Albany Medical College and President of the American Roentgenology Ray Society.
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J. Stewart Rodman, MD (1883-1958)
ABMS Vice President 1933- 1936
At the time of his appointment with ABMS, Dr. Rodman was the first Secretary-Treasurer of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). Dr. Rodman’s father, William L. Rodman, MD founded NBME in 1915 and had worked for years to establish a “standard of examination” so that “its diplomates may be recognized for licensure to practice medicine.” When William Rodman died suddenly in 1916, his son, John Stewart Rodman, MD dedicated himself to the accomplishment of his father’s dream.
Stewart Rodman remained active in the NBME throughout his entire professional life. He became the first Medical Secretary of the Board in 1937 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1953. A study of the Board’s minutes and publications in those years reveals how intimately involved he was in all workings of the Board. The Board’s tribute to him upon his death in 1958 stated:
“As one views the influence of this National Board of Medical Examiners on American medicine, both directly and subtly, it is impressive. During his career Stewart Rodman did much to shape this effect. He saw it first on medical licensure, then on specialty boards, and finally on medical practice itself and on medical education. This man used his influence modestly but it has cast a long shadow indeed, a shadow almost with substance.”
Dr. Rodman studied premed at the University of Pennsylvania and received his MD in 1906 from the Medico-Chirurgical College. After internships at Pennsylvania Hospital and a fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, the younger Dr. Rodman established a surgery practice in Philadelphia.
In 1924 Stewart Rodman was appointed to the Professorship of Surgery in the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, where he taught until he reached academic retirement age. He was at one time Surgeon-in-Chief to the Bryn Mawr Hospital and served on the staff of the Presbyterian Hospital and the Philadelphia General Hospital.
The NBME was not the only organization to benefit from Stewart Rodman’s energy and professional expertise. He was instrumental in establishing the American Board of Surgery in 1937 and was elected Secretary-Treasurer at its organization meeting. He was a fellow of the American Surgical Association and served as its Vice President. He served as Secretary and President of the Philadelphia Academy of Surgery and was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and of the Philadelphia College of Physicians.
He wrote a number of papers on cancer and surgery and published the History of the American Board of Surgery, 1937-1952 in 1956.
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Sources consulted for this article included:
The National Board Examiner. 1958; 5(8):4.
Transactions and Studies of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. 1959; 26(3):163-4.
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Stephen C. Scheiber, MD
ABMS Distinguished Service Award Recipient 2007
Dr. Scheiber has been a major force in American Psychiatry and Neurology and extremely involved in the work of ABMS by serving on numerous committees and task forces. He has also made numerous professional presentations and published many peer reviewed papers and book chapters on topics pertinent to medical education and the certification, recertification and maintenance of certification processes.
Dr. Scheiber served over 20 years as the leader and ultimately the Executive Vice President of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (1986-2006). During his tenure, the Board became more sophisticated in terms of its testing processes and added multiple subspecialties in psychiatry and neurology and developed its recertification and maintenance of certification programs.
He has held office or other important positions within the American Psychiatric Association, the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training, the Association for Academic Psychiatry, the American College of Psychiatrists, the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, the American Academy of Neurology and the American Neurological Association.
Dr. Schieber’s publications attest to the depth and breath of his involvement in psychiatry dating back to 1976. He has authored or co-authored numerous papers, book chapters, non refereed papers in lay magazines and journals and most importantly in peer reviewed publications. He is a sought after speaker and has contributed to a variety of prestigious journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA and Academic Psychiatry and Neurology.
Dr. Scheiber received his medical degree from State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Science. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
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Anne R. Somers
ABMS Public Member 1978-1980
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Bruce E. Spivey, MD
18th ABMS President 1980-81
ABMS Distinguished Service Award Recipient 1986
Dr. Spivey, trained as an ophthalmologist and a medical educator, has a wide range of physician and hospital management experience. He has served as a departmental chairman for 16 years, a hospital CEO for 16 years, the CEO of the national specialty society for his specialty for 15 years and the CEO of multi-hospital systems for over 14 years. He is currently President of the International Council of Ophthalmology & International Federation of Ophthalmological Societies.
He has served on many boards of international, national and regional health care organizations and ophthalmologic societies. His past positions include President of the American Board of Medical Specialties; President of the American Ophthalmological Society; President of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies; member of the Graduate Medical Education National Advisory Committee, and a member of the Board of the Voluntary Hospitals of America.
Dr. Spivey is the author of over 120 scientific education and management articles, and often addresses major meetings in the health care field. Dr. Spivey is a trustee of Coe College, Helen Keller International and a (founding) member of the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company and of the Board of the U.S. China Educational Institute and serves on eight other for-profit and not-for-profit Boards. He has also been Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology at Northwestern University Medical School, past Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology of California Pacific Medical Center, past Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology at Columbia and Cornell Universities.
Dr. Spivey received his medical degree and Master’s of Science from the University of Iowa, and a Master’s in Medical Education from the University of Illinois. He also served in the Army, including one year as Chief of Ophthalmology of the Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon, South Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service.
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Ernest L. Stebbins MD, MPH (1901-1987)
ABMS President 1958-1959
Dr. Stebbins early career began as an epidemiologist and health officer in Virginia and New York, he later worked as both New York City Health Commissioner and a Professor at Columbia University before joining the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1946. Stebbins was Director of the School of Hygiene and Public Health from 1946 until 1958 and Dean from 1958 to 1967. He was named Dean Emeritus in 1967 and Professor Emeritus in 1972. Stebbins was also an advisor to the World Health Organization and a consultant to the Agency for International Development, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Public Health Service.
Dr. Stebbins’ other leadership roles included President of the American Public Health Association (1965-66) and chairman of the American Board of Preventive Medicine from 1958-1961.
Dr. Stebbins received his medical degree from Rush Medical College at the University of Chicago. He earned his Masters in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. Dr. Stebbins was certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine.
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Rosemary Stevens, PhD
ABMS Public Member, 2000-2006
ABMS Distinguished Service Award Recipient 1990
Dr. Stevens is Professor emeritus in Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is a member of the Department of History and Sociology of Science and a Senior Fellow Emeritus at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.
Migrating to the United States in 1961 from her native England, Stevens developed a strong interest in American medicine and its history, and in organizational and social comparisons between healthcare in Great Britain and the United States. She pursued graduate studies in Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale University receiving her PhD in 1968. Upon graduation, she taught at Yale for eight years, followed by a two-year appointment at Tulane University. Her teaching career at the University of Pennsylvania began in 1979. She served as Chair of the Department of History and Sociology from 1980 to 1983, and again, from 1986 to 1991, when she was appointed first woman Dean of Penn's School of Arts and Sciences. She joined the emeritus faculty in 2002.
Dr. Stevens has authored many books and articles on healthcare, public health and related topics. She has served on several health/medicine related committees and has been Chair of the Center for the Advancement of Health, Washington, DC. In addition to her service with ABMS, she has been a public member of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).
Among the many honors given to her, Dr. Stevens has won national awards in the history of medicine, history of public health and health services research. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Stevens received her Bachelor’s degree from St. Hilda’s College, Oxford University, Master’s degree from Oxford University, and PhD and MPH from Yale University.
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John S. Strauss, MD
ABMS Distinguished Service Award Recipient 2006
Dr. Strauss is a noted expert on the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia, and he has published widely on topics related to the mental illness. He also led the effort to organize a consumer support group for persons with mental illness.
Strauss joined the Yale faculty as Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Yale Psychiatric Institute in 1977. He held the latter post until 1979. Prior to coming to Yale, he taught at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, where he was also Director of Clinical Psychiatry research programs. He has served as a member of the Task force for the President’s Commission on Mental Health and was a collaborating investigator for a study on schizophrenia conducted by the World Health Organization.
His honors include the American Psychiatric Association’s van Amerigen Award in Psychiatric Rehabilitation.
Dr. Strauss received his medical degree from Yale University. He is certified with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
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Paul Titus, MD
ABMS President 1945-46
ABMS Secretary Treasurer 1933-1941
At the time of his appointment with the Advisory Board of Medical Specialties, Dr. Titus was a consultant with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pittsburgh. He represented the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
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Derrick T. Vail Sr, MD (1864-1930)
Derrick T. Vail plays a significant role in ABMS history, as he was the first to propose the concept of a specialty board in 1908, which created the impetus for the formation of the American Board of Ophthalmic Examinations nine years later.
He started his professional life as a teacher in Franklin, Ohio. He studied medicine at the Miami Medical College in Cincinnati, earning his medical degree in 1890. As was the custom, or perhaps the necessity of his day, he continued his studies with Christian R. Holmes, MD a skilled practitioner and later to the clinics of Europe for his specialty training. He practiced “Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat” until 1916 when he limited his practice to ophthalmology and was certified a year later by the newly created American Board of Ophthalmology. Dr. Vail never gave up teaching entirely; he was a professor at two medical schools and Chief of the Eye Clinic at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Dr. Vail retired in 1928 from the Vail Hospital, a private practice he established in his home state of Ohio.
Dr. Vail was a founder and president of The American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. He was also a member of The Oxford (England) Ophthalmological Congress, The American College of Surgeons, the American Ophthalmological Society, the Section on Ophthalmology of the American Medical Association and various other societies.
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Alexander J. Walt, MD, ChB (1923-1995)
24th ABMS President 1992-1994
ABMS Distinguished Service Award Recipient 1995 (posthumously)
Dr. Walt served ABMS with distinction. Prior to his presidency, he served as President-Elect, Vice President and Treasurer. Additionally, Dr. Walt was a voting representative from the American Board of Surgery (ABS).
He served as a Director of the ABS from 1979 to 1985 as a representative of the Western Surgical Association and was very involved in the creation of the certificate in surgical critical care. From 1983-1985 he was vice-chair of ABS. Dr. Walt was also an active member in the American College of Surgeons, having served as Chairman of the Board of Regents from 1991 to 1994 and President from 1994 to 1995.
Dr. Walt was Professor and Chief of Surgery for 22 years at Wayne State University, and Chief of Surgery at Detroit General Hospital, Harper Hospital, and then Harper-Grace Hospital.
Dr. Walt and his wife Irene, immigrated to America in 1961 from South Africa and both found their life's work at Detroit Receiving Hospital where Wayne State University’s medical school was housed. Dr. Walt, feeling that the hospital’s appearance was having an affect on attracting new residents, asked his wife for help. What resulted was the creation of the hospital’s Beautification Committee which was responsible for the addition of 150 electric beds as well as securing donations of artwork from numerous Michigan artists to hang in the hospital. Not only did this make for a better presentation to prospective residents, but patients and doctors alike came to appreciate the art. And now, her book, The Healing Work of Art, tells the story of the creation of the hospital's exquisite 1,000-piece art collection with a story for each work.
In 1995, the Cancer Institute of Detroit, Michigan dedicated its Comprehensive Breast Center at Harper Hospital to Dr. Walt in recognition of his distinguished career and lifelong achievements in the fight against breast cancer. Dr. Walt served as Medical Director of the clinical program there, which was founded in 1990.
Dr. Walt was certified by the American Board of Surgery.
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Peyton E. Weary, MD
23rd ABMS President 1998-199O
ABMS Distinguished Service Award Recipient 1999
Dr. Weary served the ABMS in many capacities, culminating with his presidency where he testified on issues concerning certification for a US House of Representatives committee. He was highly involved in issues of health policy on both local and national levels and served on the National Association of Physicians for the Environment.
His long and distinguished career with the American Board of Dermatology included special recognition as an outstanding teacher and program director for dermatology residents. He has served as president of the American Board of Dermatology, the Academy of Dermatology, the American Dermatological Association.
After completing his residency at the University of Virginia in 1961, he became chair of the Department of Dermatology there in 1976. An active supporter of the university, he established a unique program that provided orientation for federal government staffers on problems of healthcare education and practice.
Dr. Weary is certified by the American Board of Dermatology.
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Kevin B. Weiss, MD, MPH
ABMS President and CEO 2007-present
Dr. Weiss joined the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) in December 2007 as President and CEO. He also directs the Institute for Healthcare Studies at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine. Most recently, Dr. Weiss was the Director of the Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care at Hines and Chicago Veterans Administration Medical Centers.
For more than 20 years, Dr. Weiss has devoted his medical career to quality and access issues in primary care, conducting epidemiological and health services research projects related to guideline implementation, chronic care management, outcomes measurement and quality improvement, with a specific emphasis on asthma. Recognizing the importance of patient safety and quality of care in his community, Dr. Weiss also helped found the Chicago Patient Safety Forum and served as its first chairperson.
Dr. Weiss currently serves on the Clinical Performance Measures Committee of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and represents the American College of Physicians (ACP) at the National Quality Forum (NQF) and the American Medical Association's (AMA) Physicians Consortium for Performance Improvement. He also serves on NQF's Consensus Standards Approval Committee, and chairs the Performance Measures Committee of the AQA Alliance. Dr. Weiss also is a Board of Regents member of the ACP.
Dr. Weiss completed his medical degree at Chicago Medical School, and Master's degrees in community health sciences at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, and in health services administration at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
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Louis B. Wilson, MD
ABMS President 1933-1936
At the time of his appointment with the Advisory Board of Medical Specialties, Dr. Wilson was Head of the Section on Pathology, Mayo Clinic and a representative of the Association of American Medical Colleges.
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James E. Youker, MD, FACR
28th ABMS President 2000-2002
A Radiologist, Dr. Youker is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Radiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He has served in that capacity since 1968. He has also been the Director of the Department of Radiology at the Milwaukee County Medical Complex and Chairman of Radiology at Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Milwaukee.
Dr. Youker was a member of the Residency Review Committee for Radiology from 1984 to 1990 and served as its Chair from 1988 to 1990. Since 1993, he has served as a trustee of the American Board of Radiology and has been a guest examiner for more than 20 years.
He has been an active participant in a variety of radiologic organizations, including the American College of Radiology, the Wisconsin Radiological Society, and the Association of University Radiologists. He served as vice president of the College from 1984 to 1985 and president of the Society of Chairman of Academic Radiology Departments in 1972.
In 1997, he was the recipient of the Gold Medal of the Association of University Radiologists and received the Gold Medal of the Radiological Society of North America in 2000.
Dr. Youker received his medical degree from the State University of New York, Brooklyn and completed his residency at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. He is certified by the American Board of Radiology and is a Fellow of the American College of Radiology.
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