Introduction

In 1936, a young Harvard-trained doctor accepted the position of Resident Physician at a private New England middle school (name of school withheld at the Headmaster's request). On the heels of a Surgical Residency at the Children's Hospital in Boston, this meticulous man was kept busy with the mundane injuries that adolescent boys inflict upon themselves and each other. His records include such notations as ‘bean removed from left ear,’ ‘skiing accident,’ ‘pencil point in roof of mouth removed,’ ‘ruptured spleen from jumping off roof,’ ‘kicked by horse,’ ‘fell out of window,’ ‘football accident’ (notes in the health records of individual boys). The Resident Physician taught a few health-related courses, supervised the cafeteria, and was a key decision maker in the lineup of sports teams (Fig. 7.1). Each year he wrote hundreds of letters and dozens of telegrams to parents advising them of their sons' injuries and bouts of infectious disease. In addition, he monitored the growth and maturation of every boy under his care. Today, the health records of these boys are stored in a dormitory basement.