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Carl C. Hug, Jr.,
M.D., Ph.D. |
 everal
months ago, I was at a social function for anesthesiologists,
and I had an opportunity to interject into the conversation
that I read an interesting article in a British
journal. It is not often that I have the opportunity
to appear well read and erudite. One of the anesthesiologists
in the group expressed a great deal of interest
in the article and asked me to e-mail him a copy.
Nothing unusual about this exchange except for me
knowing about an interesting article.
What struck me about this exchange, however, was
that the interested questioner was Carl C. Hug,
Jr., M.D., Ph.D. I was really intrigued by such
a high level of intellectual curiosity in a semi-retired
anesthesiologist.
The conversation then wandered to lethal injection,
a subject in which I have become somewhat of a reluctant
expert. Turns out that Carl has a real interest
in medical ethics and continues to teach the subject
to medical students, residents and attending physicians.
Carl is a multifaceted and multitalented anesthesiologist,
but I think that the hallmarks that make him uniquely
deserving of the Distinguished Service Award (DSA)
are his intellectual curiosity and his sense of
ethics.
His intellectual curiosity was manifest early in
his career. He received a Doctorate in Pharmacology
at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor before
pursuing a medical degree from the same institution.
Medical school was followed by an anesthesiology
residency at Emory University in Atlanta, where
he continues on the faculty. Carl is not prone to
frequent change. His 36-year career at Emory is
eclipsed by his 51-year marriage to Marilyn.
His intellectual curiosity has resulted in his being
invited as a visiting professor more than 70 times
throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He has
given 14 named lectureships, including the 1999
ASA Emery A. Rovenstine Memorial Lecture. He has
been enormously productive with numerous original
manuscripts and book chapters with important contributions
in opioid pharmacology and cardiac anesthesiology.
Of particular interest to me was a recent editorial
in the February 2006 issue of Anesthesiology
on the substantial risk of sedation, which is titled
“MAC Should Stand for Maximum Anesthesia Caution,
Not Minimal Anesthesiology Care.”
2006 Distinguished
Service Award
Monday, October 15
11:15 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.
Moscone Center North, Room 134
He has made substantial contributions to our appreciation
of the ethical challenges of medicine. He is a faculty
associate in the Center for Ethics of Emory University.
In 1999 he was invited to deliver the Rovenstine Memorial
Lecture. His theme was ethics. He discussed with great
wisdom such thorny subjects as end-of-life, informed
consent, conflict resolution and death in the operating
room. The lecture appears in the August 2000 issue
of Anesthesiology, and I recommend it highly
to anyone who wants to do some thoughtful reading
on the ethical conflicts we face.
His contribution to the specialty includes service
as a director and president of both the American Board
of Anesthesiology and the Foundation for Anesthesia
Education and Research.
The above characteristics make Dr. Hug thoroughly
deserving of the Distinguished Service Award, ASA’s
highest honor to a physician However, Carl’s
most endearing quality is that he is a thoroughly
genuine, humble and nice person. It was not by chance
that I started this article by describing a social
encounter with Carl because I avail myself of every
opportunity to be with Marilyn and Carl. I encourage
any of you who will be attending the 2007 Annual Meeting
to attend the Rovenstine Memorial Lecture and be present
when this most deserving anesthesiologist becomes
the DSA recipient.
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Orin
F. Guidry, M.D., is Professor and Vice-Chair
for Professional Development, Department of
Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine, Medical
University of South Carolina, Charleston, South
Carolina. |
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