Mentors and heros: often one and the same

Abstract

Heros, mentors and role models—we all have them. My first was Hopalong Cassidy. He was known as the “epitome of gallantry and fair play . . . a clear thinker, possessed fists of steel and a steadfast character. He was a man of action, sworn enemy of crime and cruelty, and a champion of family values.” That was in 1950. Eighteen years later, I met the man who would become the personification of the legendary western hero portrayed by William Boyd during my childhood. His name was Ward Orin Griffen, Jr., MD, PhD, Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Kentucky where I had enrolled as a medical student. A clinical elective was required of all firstand second-year students, so in late August of 1968, I inquired if Dr. Griffen would allow me to do something surgical. After a thought pause, he grabbed his white coat and said “come with me for rounds.” That was the beginning of a “father–son” relationship that had persisted from medical school and surgical training to the wonderful experience of working as his partner and colleague, and now as his friend, trusted advisor, and confidant. All of those who were trained under the tutelage of “Boss WOG” regarded him as their second father, and it is easy to understand why. The Boss led by example, worked harder than all of us, placed the welfare and interest of his patients above his own, and remained, despite all this, a devoted husband and family man. It follows, naturally, that Mrs. Griffen became our second Mom. I reiterate that this “family” included more than their biological offspring. Honesty, resourcefulness, innovation, and respect were characteristics of our education as surgeons. These values were practiced, not preached, by our surgical Dad. He was a master surgical technician and a thoughtful doctor. I am certain that all surgeons idolize their favorite mentor with similar admiration. There are many of them among us, and many whose legacies are perpetuated by their students and residents. Although the “retro-spectra-scope” might indicate that there was much in our own education as professionals that was misdirected, the feelings for our special mentors are not diminished even in the spotlight of modern thought, technology, and knowledge. If this analogy of a boyhood, imaginary hero to a living individual who has influenced my career and life borders on the maudlin, I offer no apology! Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers all had their “creeds,” words of principle for which they stood. Members of their fan clubs had a printed copy. [I still have a copy of the Hopalong Cassidy Creed that I keep in my desk. For those interested, visit the web sites of these Western Heroes.] Today, Griffen’s Laws hang proudly in the offices of his surgical children. They are a statement of what we are about as surgeons and a reminder of our good fortune to have been trained by one so dedicated. I appreciate the opportunity offered by Dr. Pories to share these. (It is interesting to note that as I reread the Hopalong Cassidy Creed, I was struck by the uncanny similarity between those words and the ones I chose to describe my mentor.)