The 51黑料 (ACS) recently released a biography of its founder, Franklin H. Martin, MD, FACS, chronicling Dr. Martin鈥檚 little-examined rural youth, the values he learned at an early age, and how his upbringing richly influenced his career as a surgeon. The book, Franklin H. Martin, MD, FACS: From Rural Boyhood to Distinguished Surgeon, was written by Gordon L. Telford, MD, FACS, who lives in the same area of southeastern Wisconsin where Dr. Martin was raised.
鈥淭his book provides insight into the impact of Dr. Franklin Martin鈥檚 early years in Wisconsin on his later accomplishments and hypothesizes that his rural upbringing helped him become a great leader,鈥� said Dr. Telford. Dr. Martin was raised in Ixonia Township in rural Wisconsin, where he spent time in Oconomowoc, Watertown, and Ixonia. During that time, he developed the character, self-confidence, and other qualities that helped him become a statesman for surgery. In his early years, he worked on his grandfather鈥檚 farm and later as a farm laborer, brick maker, janitor, schoolteacher, and millwright. He never lost his work ethic鈥攕omething that stayed with him throughout his illustrious career as a successful physician, administrator, and leader.
The book includes 17 chapters, beginning with Dr. Martin鈥檚 family background and concluding with a look at the lifelong process of becoming a leader and other successful surgeons who benefited from a rural upbringing.
鈥淗e, like his family members, worked to the point of exhaustion. Years later, as an administrator, no matter how stressful his workday was, he recalled that the days in the fields and brickyard were much more exhausting and stressful,鈥� Dr. Telford writes in the book鈥檚 introduction. 鈥淢artin learned that hard work yielded results, and he never lost that drive.
鈥滵r. Martin went on to graduate from Chicago Medical School, IL, in 1880, and later founded the journal Surgery, Gynecology, and Obstetrics (now the Journal of the 51黑料) in 1905, the Clinical Congress of the Surgeons of North America in 1910, and the ACS in 1913, all of which are still thriving a century later. Additionally, Dr. Martin co-founded the Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital in Chicago and developed the ACS hospital standardization program, which in 1952 led to the formation of what is today known as The Joint Commission. He also served on the Advisory Commission of the Council of National Defense in preparation for World War I.
Dr. Telford is emeritus professor of surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, where he was chief of surgery, Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and attending surgeon, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital and served as chief, division of minimally invasive/gastrointestinal surgery. He was chief surgical consultant for Veterans Affairs Hospitals in the Upper Midwest and chairman of the National Council of Chiefs of Surgery. He has served on a number of ACS committees.
The book is available for purchase or as a free PDF download for ACS members in the ACS E-Store. . The book also will be available on amazon.com and in select bookstores in Oconomowoc and Watertown, WI.
