William Shainline Middleton
Encyclopedia
William Shainline Middleton, M.D., M.A.C.P. (7 January 1890 - 9 September 1975) was a prestigious American internist. He was one of the founders of the American Board of Internal Medicine
and its first Secretary-Treasurer. Middleton was also the second Dean of the University of Wisconsin Medical School.
, to Daniel and Anne Middleton, the second of their four children. His father was a salesman for a candy company. Middleton entered the University of Pennsylvania
in 1907 and obtained an M.D. in 1911. Thereafter, Dr. Middleton served as an intern at Philadelphia General Hospital under the direction of Dr. David Riesman. Middleton later stated that his own practices in physical examination of patients, teaching of medical students and house officers, and ethics were derived from those of Riesman.
, pneumoconiosis
, hematological disorders, infectious diseases and medical history
. He steadily rose through the academic ranks, and when the medical school became a four-year degree-granting entity in 1924 and built a university hospital, Middleton emerged as a central figure in the education of third- and fourth-year clinical clerks as well as house officers in internal medicine
. He was known for his mastery of the physical examination
and for his consummate professionalism. A novel and innovative program of "preceptorships" was initiated in 1926, wherein senior medical students were assigned to work with community practitioners throughout Wisconsin as a prelude to internship. That system of mentoring continues to this day. After the death of UW medical school Dean Charles Russell Bardeen in 1935, Middleton was named as his successor. The deanship was a difficult position at that time, because of growing factionalism among academic departments and their faculty members. In spite of that problem, the school flourished under Dean Middleton's guidance over 20 years. He continued to teach actively and to pursue his own research interests despite the administrative demands on his time, ultimately producing more than 300 contributions to the peer-reviewed medical literature. In 1939, the American Board of Internal Medicine
was constituted under the aegis of the American Board of Medical Specialties
. Middleton was asked to serve as one of the eight initial Board members, and was named Secretary-Treasurer of the organization. He was instrumental in formulating a national curriculum for residency training in internal medicine and a structured system of examination to achieve board-certification in that medical specialty.
, from 1917 to 1919. He remained in the U.S. Army Reserve following the end of the war, and, after the renewed outbreak of world hostilities in 1939, Middleton began to serve an increasingly active role as an advisor to the U.S. Army Medical Corps. When the U.S. entered the war, Middleton was recalled to active duty as Chief Consultant in Medicine, in the European Theater of Operations
. He had an Army counterpart-consultant in surgery, Dr. Elliott Cutler
, and, together, they shaped the process for the care of sick and injured American soldiers in Europe. In addition, Middleton was asked to care personally for several high-profile, high-ranking officers in both the American and British armies during the conflict. Middleton attained the rank of Colonel
(O6) in the Army Medical Corps. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
, the Legion of Merit
with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Croix de Guerre
with Palm, and the Order of the British Empire
.
. He relinquished his deanship and served the government in that capacity for eight years, but retained a presence at UW as well. Programs for veterans that were developed during his tenure included improved access to physical rehabilitation services, mental health
care, and treatment for cardiovascular disease
s. In recognition of that work, the Veterans Hospital in Madison was named the "William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital" in the mid-1970s.
(UK); a Master and former President of the American College of Physicians
; a recipient of the Alumni Award of Merit from the University of Pennsylvania; and a recipient of the UW Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching..
and handball
, and swam in Madison's Lake Mendota
every summer morning until the age of 81..
at the Madison Veterans Hospital in September 1975, at the age of 85. He is buried in Madison.
American Board of Internal Medicine
The American Board of Internal Medicine is a non-profit, independent physician evaluation organization committed to continuously improving the profession for the public good by certifying physicians who practice internal medicine and its sub-specialties...
and its first Secretary-Treasurer. Middleton was also the second Dean of the University of Wisconsin Medical School.
Early life and education
Middleton was born in January 1890 in Norristown, PennsylvaniaNorristown, Pennsylvania
Norristown is a municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, northwest of the city limits of Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill River. The population was 34,324 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County...
, to Daniel and Anne Middleton, the second of their four children. His father was a salesman for a candy company. Middleton entered the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1907 and obtained an M.D. in 1911. Thereafter, Dr. Middleton served as an intern at Philadelphia General Hospital under the direction of Dr. David Riesman. Middleton later stated that his own practices in physical examination of patients, teaching of medical students and house officers, and ethics were derived from those of Riesman.
Career at the University of Wisconsin
Middleton was invited to join the faculty at the University of Wisconsin (UW; in Madison, WI) - then a 2-year medical school - immediately after his internship. He moved to Madison in 1912 as a Clinical Instructor in Medicine, principally serving students at the fledgling UW student health center, along with its director, Dr. Joseph Spragg Evans. Middleton had broad interests regarding areas of clinical investigation, but they especially centered on sarcoidosisSarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis , also called sarcoid, Besnier-Boeck disease or Besnier-Boeck-Schaumann disease, is a disease in which abnormal collections of chronic inflammatory cells form as nodules in multiple organs. The cause of sarcoidosis is unknown...
, pneumoconiosis
Pneumoconiosis
Pneumoconiosis is an occupational lung disease and a restrictive lung disease caused by the inhalation of dust, often in mines.-Types:Depending upon the type of dust, the disease is given different names:...
, hematological disorders, infectious diseases and medical history
Medical history
The medical history or anamnesis of a patient is information gained by a physician by asking specific questions, either of the patient or of other people who know the person and can give suitable information , with the aim of obtaining information useful in formulating a diagnosis and providing...
. He steadily rose through the academic ranks, and when the medical school became a four-year degree-granting entity in 1924 and built a university hospital, Middleton emerged as a central figure in the education of third- and fourth-year clinical clerks as well as house officers in internal medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
. He was known for his mastery of the physical examination
Physical examination
Physical examination or clinical examination is the process by which a doctor investigates the body of a patient for signs of disease. It generally follows the taking of the medical history — an account of the symptoms as experienced by the patient...
and for his consummate professionalism. A novel and innovative program of "preceptorships" was initiated in 1926, wherein senior medical students were assigned to work with community practitioners throughout Wisconsin as a prelude to internship. That system of mentoring continues to this day. After the death of UW medical school Dean Charles Russell Bardeen in 1935, Middleton was named as his successor. The deanship was a difficult position at that time, because of growing factionalism among academic departments and their faculty members. In spite of that problem, the school flourished under Dean Middleton's guidance over 20 years. He continued to teach actively and to pursue his own research interests despite the administrative demands on his time, ultimately producing more than 300 contributions to the peer-reviewed medical literature. In 1939, the American Board of Internal Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine
The American Board of Internal Medicine is a non-profit, independent physician evaluation organization committed to continuously improving the profession for the public good by certifying physicians who practice internal medicine and its sub-specialties...
was constituted under the aegis of the American Board of Medical Specialties
American Board of Medical Specialties
The American Board of Medical Specialties is a non-profit physician-led umbrella organization for 24 of the 26 approved medical specialty boards in the United States...
. Middleton was asked to serve as one of the eight initial Board members, and was named Secretary-Treasurer of the organization. He was instrumental in formulating a national curriculum for residency training in internal medicine and a structured system of examination to achieve board-certification in that medical specialty.
Military service
Middleton served as a general medical officer with the U.S. Expeditionary Forces in France during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, from 1917 to 1919. He remained in the U.S. Army Reserve following the end of the war, and, after the renewed outbreak of world hostilities in 1939, Middleton began to serve an increasingly active role as an advisor to the U.S. Army Medical Corps. When the U.S. entered the war, Middleton was recalled to active duty as Chief Consultant in Medicine, in the European Theater of Operations
European Theater of Operations
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...
. He had an Army counterpart-consultant in surgery, Dr. Elliott Cutler
Elliott Cutler
Brigadier General Elliot Carr Cutler CB, OBE, FRCS, MD, FACS was an American surgeon and medical educator. He was Moseley Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Surgeon-in-Chief at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital from 1932 to 1947., and a Brigadier General in the U.S...
, and, together, they shaped the process for the care of sick and injured American soldiers in Europe. In addition, Middleton was asked to care personally for several high-profile, high-ranking officers in both the American and British armies during the conflict. Middleton attained the rank of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
(O6) in the Army Medical Corps. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
, the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
with Palm, and the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
.
Service to the U.S. Veterans Administration
In 1955, Middleton was appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower as Chief Medical Director of the Department of Medicine & Surgery of the U.S. Veterans AdministrationUnited States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
. He relinquished his deanship and served the government in that capacity for eight years, but retained a presence at UW as well. Programs for veterans that were developed during his tenure included improved access to physical rehabilitation services, mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
care, and treatment for cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease
Heart disease or cardiovascular disease are the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels . While the term technically refers to any disease that affects the cardiovascular system , it is usually used to refer to those related to atherosclerosis...
s. In recognition of that work, the Veterans Hospital in Madison was named the "William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital" in the mid-1970s.
Professional honors and awards
Middleton received many professional accolades during his long career. He was given six honorary doctorate degrees, including the D.Sc. from Cambridge University. Middleton was an honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of MedicineRoyal Society of Medicine
The Royal Society of Medicine is a British charitable organisation whose main purpose is as a provider of medical education, running over 350 meetings and conferences each year.- History and overview :...
(UK); a Master and former President of the American College of Physicians
American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is a national organization of doctors of internal medicine —physicians who specialize in the prevention, detection, and treatment of illnesses in adults. With 130,000 members, ACP is the largest medical-specialty organization and second-largest physician group in...
; a recipient of the Alumni Award of Merit from the University of Pennsylvania; and a recipient of the UW Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching..
Personal life
Middleton married Maude H. Webster in 1921. She died in 1968, and the couple had no children. In 1973, Middleton married a second time, to Ruth Adams, who had been a member of his staff in the Veterans Administration. He was a fierce competitor in tennisTennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
, and swam in Madison's Lake Mendota
Lake Mendota
Lake Mendota is the northernmost and largest of the four lakes near Madison, Wisconsin. The lake borders Madison on the north, east and south, Middleton on the west, Shorewood Hills on the southwest, Maple Bluff on the northeast, and Westport on the northwest....
every summer morning until the age of 81..
Death
William S. Middleton died of pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at the Madison Veterans Hospital in September 1975, at the age of 85. He is buried in Madison.