Hooked on Rheum with Arthur Kavanaugh, MD
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My inspiration not only for rheumatology, but also for how to be a better doctor overall, was Martin D. Lidsky, MD. When I was an internal medicine resident at Baylor University, he was a rheumatologist there. He was a consummate professional, and the consummate professor of rheumatology.
In medical school, most of the education is done in hospitals, where you are taking care of patients acutely. Dr. Lidsky was the first clinician I saw who took care of his patients longitudinally. He knew everything about his patients. This was an entirely new experience for me.
Of course, this is what rheumatology is. We are providing longitudinal care.
Dr. Lidsky was just a prince, one of the kindest and most caring doctors I’ve ever worked with. But he also worked harder than any of his residents and fellows — he kept abreast with all of the new scientific information that was emerging. In fact, he made that information part of who he was as a doctor, and that left a lasting impression on the way I practice medicine.
In those days — and we are talking about the early 1980s here — Veterans Affairs hospitals were divided into wards. These hospitals were only two stories tall but they were very spread out, and each specialty had its own ward.
Dr. Lidsky ran the rheumatology ward. Of course, patients with arthritis and gout and other autoimmune diseases were treated there, but they also admitted patients with heart disease or pneumonia, or patients who could not easily be categorized. Dr. Lidsky took care of all of them the same. If you were a patient on his ward, he was going to figure out what needed to be done and care for you.
Arthur Kavanaugh, MD
Rheumatologist
Professor of Medicine
University of California, San Diego Health