In Memoriam Tribute to James A. Shaver, MD

Abstract

Dr James A. Shaver, our friend and colleague, died of pneumonia on April 13, 2012, after a long history of chronic renal disease. At the time of his death, he was professor of medicine and the former chief of the division of cardiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Born in Ridgway, Pennsylvania, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Pennsylvania and to Alpha Omega Alpha at the Hahnemann Medical College, from which he graduated in 1959. Dr Shaver trained in internal medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh, where he also completed his cardiology fellowship. He joined the Pitt faculty in 1965 and rose through the ranks to become a full professor in 1977. He was director of the cardiac diagnostic laboratories and then became director of the division from 1971 to 1994. Dr Shaver also served as director of the Cardiovascular Fellowship Program from 1971 to 2006, training more than 325 fellows, many of whom went on to assume leadership positions of their own. Since he left the division directorship, he led the medical school second-year course in physical diagnosis and continued to play an active role as a consulting cardiologist and a charismatic teacher at all levels of medical education. Dr …