5. William Osler (1849-1919): Specialty residencies
Canadian physician William Osler is known as the “father of modern medicine.” One of the founders of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md., Osler created the first specialty training residency program. He was also the first to put medical students through formalized bedside clinical training. In addition to his medical career, Osler was also a historian and an author.
6. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910): Nursing
Florence Nightingale, social reformer, statistician and healthcare pioneer, was the founder of modern nursing. The British native’s claim to fame came during the Crimean War in 1854, when she and 38 other women were sent to minister to British soldiers. Finding an unhygienic, short-staffed hectic camp, Nightingale and her team reduced the death rate by 42 percent to 2 percent. A fund to train nurses for the war was established in her name in 1855. Nightingale went on to found a nursing school, write several texts on nursing and contribute to modern statistical analysis of sanitary reform.
7. Richard M. Lawler (1896-1982): Successful organ transplantation
Richard M. Lawler, MD, is best known for performing the first successful internal organ transplant, a kidney. He performed the transplant in 1950 in Chicago at Little Company of Mary Hospital. His patient was a 49-year-old Ruth Tucker, who suffered from polycystic kidney disease. The transplant was successful, though Ms. Tucker died from other causes five years later. While Dr. Lawler never performed another kidney transplant, his success paved the way for others to see the possibility of organ transplant as a viable treatment option.
8. Forrest M. Bird (b. 1921): Ventilator
Forrest M. Bird, MD, PhD, ScD, is an American pilot and inventor best known for creating the first reliable mechanical ventilators which are used in cardiopulmonary care. Dr. Bird began his career as a pilot, making his first solo flight at the age of 14 and earning his first aviation license at 16. By the time he enrolled in the Air Force at in 1941, he was qualified to be a technical air training officer. This qualification allowed Dr. Bird to fly nearly every plane the Air Force had to offer, including several that exceeded comfortable breathing altitudes. This experience prompted him to invent ventilation aids. In 1955 his work resulted in the release of the Bird Universal Medical Respirator, a pneumatic ventilator that is still in use around the world today.
9. Francis Crick (1916-2004): Molecular biology
Known most famously for being one of the four researchers who determined the double-helix structure of DNA, Francis Crick, PhD, is also a leader of the research team that discovered DNA is made of codons – amino acid triplets that encode genetic information. As a result of this late-1950s discovery, another research team was able to decipher the genetic code, leading to the birth of molecular biology and the understanding of the role genetics plays in human variation and health.
