The 2003 ABA presidential address: 9/11...this is not a drill!

I am humbled by the honor bestowed upon me to serve as the President of the American Burn Association (ABA). For me, it is the ultimate achievement in a career that started, as with most burn doctors of my generation, as a matter of circumstance and opportunity rather than a matter of choice. Having fallen into the field, however, I must state that I am fortunate and proud to have had the pleasure of working as a member of what I consider the only true “team” in medicine—the burn team. With that introduction, I must take a few moments to thank some very special people who have invested time and patience in me and my career and with whom I share the honor of the presidency. I have had the good fortune to work under several master surgeons who guided my career and opened doors for me. My interest in burn care was inspired by Dr. Roger Sherman, my Chairman of Surgery at the University of South Florida in Tampa. One of his favorite expressions, and one which I use frequently with my residents, was “I can teach a monkey to operate, but I can’t teach him how to think.” With those words, he stimulated the thinking process in several generations of surgery residents. My second Chairman was Captain William Fouty, the Chief of Surgery at the National Naval Medical Center, where I served two years as staff surgeon and kidney transplanter. Bill knew of my interest in burns and trauma from my residency years and my disappointment with transplantation after about 11 months and, at my request, inquired of his counterpart at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR) in San Antonio how I might learn burn care at the Mecca. The answer was that I would have to sell the Navy blue uniforms and buy green ones and commit to another three years of military life as a member of the Army. I’m sorry, Dr. Pruitt, but I just couldn’t get past the green uniform part. Subsequently, having made the decision to return to the South, Dr. Fouty helped me relocate to Charleston, SC, for a two-year extension of my Navy career. As he retired from the Navy and became the Chair of Surgery at the Washington Hospital Center (WHC), he tempted me to return to the Washington, DC, area with the offer of a job as director of a burn unit. This was a hard decision. I was faced with leaving the land of magnolias, gardenias, and no import tax on grits From The Burn Center at Washington Hospital Center, Washington, District of Columbia. Address correspondence to Marion H. Jordan, MD Director of, The Burn Center at Washington Hospital Center, 110 Irving Street NW, Room 3B-55, Washington, District of Columbia 20010. Copyright © 2004 by the American Burn Association. 0273-8481/2004