Ralph waters and the beginnings of academic anesthesiology in the United States: The Wisconsin Template

Abstract

The University of Wisconsin, Madison, was one of the few places offering postgraduate training in the science and art of anesthesia in the late 1920s and 1930s. Weaving together clinical and basic science research, and fully supported by his surgical coleagues, Ralph Waters was able to create the first collegiate-based academic anesthesiology department. While Waters' department was an important milestone establishing anesthesia within the university setting, it did not guarantee true academic standing nationwide. For that to occur, Waters realized that it was necessary to establish other academic departments across the country. Attempting to replicate the department at his university, Waters searched for institutions where surgeons desired an academic anesthesia department. Additionally, he sought basic scientists ready to collaborate in scientific research in anesthesiology and a brisk clinical service. Successful application of the Wisconsin model was best reflected in the work of Waters' academic descendants: “sons” Emery Rovenstine and Robert Dripps, and “grandsons” Stuart Cullen and Emanuel Papper.