Chairman's Message => Spring 2007

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The Chairman's Message

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Founders and Founding Members => Spring 2007

"A group of physicians of the Florida Medical Association interested in Obstetrics and Gynecology met in the Rotunda of the Fourth Floor of the Ponce de Leon Hotel, St. Augustine, Florida on Sunday April 11, at 2:00 pm for the purpose of organizing an Obstetrical and Gynecologic Section of the Florida Medical Association."

The year was 1948 and this event preceded the formation of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists by 3 years. Using nomenclature established by ACOG, these 24 physicians were the Founders of the Florida Obstetric and Gynecologic Society. The subsequent enrollment in 1948 was 58 Founding Members. The membership had
increased to 132 by 1951 when 41 of these members were accepted as Founding Fellows of ACOG. Dr. Charles Collins from Orlando was the first Chairman of the Florida Section and the first President of FOGS. FOGS 2007 Annual Meeting Dr. Randolph Perdue of Miami Beach filled the Vice-Chairman position.

Dr. O.E. Harrell (Jim Harrell's father) is the only founder that I remember regularly attending our meetings when I became a member in the mid '70s. Arthur Clements's father Merritt Ryals Clements was a founding fellow of ACOG and an early member of FOGS. I am unclear why not all of the FOGS founding members were not founding fellows of ACOG. Perhaps it was because FOGS membership was originally directed to all interested in Obstetrics and Gynecology. It may have been that not all had a more formal residency training in our specialty and did not meet the qualifications for fellows. The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology was founded in 1930 with the examination for certification beginning in 1931. The examination included written, oral, clinical, and pathological sections. The board was composed initially of 200 invited professorial physicians from American Medical Schools.

Most of these physicians were part of what Tom Brokaw described as the "Greatest Generation" and served our country and communities in many significant ways. Unfortunately, most of this generation is now gone. I was fortunate enough to have known several of the men who started our organizations but I never spent much time with them nor asked about these earlier years (before Medicare and Medicaid, HMOs, Managed Care, and ridiculous insurance premiums). At your next medical society or Ob-Gyn society meeting, I suggest you sit with one or two of the older colleagues and ask about the earlier years—the time will be well spent.

Leadership of the Florida Section changes every 3 years, and 2008 will be our election year for the 2009–2011 cycle. The names of our nominating committee members are given in this newsletter on page 11. If you wish to nominate a member or participate in our advisory council, please contact a committee member.