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By Albert M. Jenkins, MD
(Reprinted with permission by the Wake County Medical Society, Vol 1, No. 6, 1997)
Perhaps almost all of the readers of this journal have found teachers who have had a profound influence on their lives. Shortly after beginning my residency training in Radiology in 1948, it was my good fortune to meet such a teacher, Dr. Thomas C. Worth. At that time he was associated with the practice of his specialty of radiology with the most prominent group in Washington, D.C. that he had been invited to join after returning from his WWII service in Europe. I was impressed with the special talent he had to inspire the residents with his vast knowledge in the field of medicine and his ability to share that wisdom. His powers of observation and interpretation were truly impressive.
As an example of this, I recall the day that he put up a chest x-ray film on the viewer, and asked the eager resident to look closely and give their impression of what that x-ray revealed about the patient’s condition. Each of us studied the film, and found the lungs to be clear, the heart normal in size and shape, and the mediastinal structures to appear completely normal. There were no apparent bony abnormalities. After each of us had finished, he pointed out to us that there was something we had overlooked. The trachea was not in its usual midline position, but pushed to the side, probably from an enlarged thyroid gland. From this finding he was not only able to give an extensive discussion of the possible clinical significance of this abnormality, but also teach us the importance of looking at the whole picture.
But these discussions with resident group were soon to end, and it was with great disappointment that we learned he was leaving Washington to return to Raleigh, where he was born in 1913, and had grown up. We were aware that he had graduated from Harvard Medical School (in 1936), interned at Massachusetts General Hospital, and had completed his residency in Radiology at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City. With such impressive credentials, we could not comprehend what would have caused him to leave a well-known practice in Washington, DC to become the sole radiologist in a rather small hospital known as Rex Hospital in Raleigh.
As I completed my radiology residency in Washington, spending many busy nights in places like Emergency Hospital, I began to dream of opening a small office for my future practice, and in a smaller city than DC. To my surprise, about that time I received a call from Dr. Worth, inviting me to visit him in Raleigh. He introduced me to his hospital and together we attended an annual Raleigh Academy of Medicine day-long symposium. I was greeted warmly by the physicians in the Raleigh medical community. It was clear to me that they shared my deep appreciation for Tom, and that he had brought to Raleigh a sense of top-quality medical care through his able teachings at the X-ray Department at Rex Hospital.
During my visit, he discussed with me his plans for the future growth of radiology in this area, with the stimulation made possible by the nearby growing University Medical Centers at Duke and Chapel Hill. But most impressive of all to me was the newly developing Cameron Village, with the prospects of developing there a private practice for radiology. Suddenly, I began to see the future through Tom’s eyes—the potential of a major radiology center for his developing community. I was very grateful to be offered a chance to participate in such a vision, and in 1953 I began my practice in that small office as a diagnostic radiologist in Cameron Village.
There would also be the opportunity for me to learn much more from Tom, sitting with him in this office in the ground floor at Rex Hospital. There I joined an impressively large group of other physicians who were beginning their practice of medicine in Raleigh and at Rex Hospital, and together we would spend a good amount of time learning that we were taught more than just medicine, but also much about life, from his storehouse of wisdom.
Over the years, Tom continued to play a significant role in the growth of medical practice in the area. When the Wake County Medical Center opened in 1961, he offered to join the staff of the new and almost empty Radiology Department there as an advisor. For the most part, however, he continued his role of directing the ever-expanding Rex Hospital, not only as chief of the radiology department, but also serving on the Executive Committee of that hospital from 1950 through 1980. He was instrumental in establishing the Therapeutic Radiology Unit, now known as the Rex Cancer Center. He was President of the NC Radiological Society in 1956, and was active in many other medical and social organizations.
After retiring from Rex Hospital, he continued to actively practice radiology until he suffered a stroke in 1993, incapacitating him so that he cold no longer tell us his favorite stories or give us his sage advice. He died on November 11, 1995 leaving behind his wife of 54 years, Barbara Luther Worth and a family of five children. But if one looks closely, they will discover that his vision of Raleigh as a major medical center has been largely fulfilled. Thus he has left behind a great gift to those of us who have benefited from his teachings. |
