farmdoc's blog post number 462

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth and completely obscures the sun. Last Wednesday, one was visible from much of Asia [1]. And due to Asia’s vast population, it was probably the most watched total solar eclipse in history. It was also notable for its extraordinarily long period of ‘totality’ – i.e. when the sun’s wholly covered – of 399 seconds. Such a lengthy duration won’t be matched until 2132. I’ve seen several partial solar eclipses, but only one total one. It was mid afternoon on a clear and sunny Saturday, and I was typing my PhD thesis in my office in Professor Lovell’s Department at The Royal Melbourne Hospital. From here I’ve worked out it was Saturday 23 October 1976. Within half a minute it got so dark I had to put the office lights on. It became eerily quiet. Then I heard all sorts of animal calls from Melbourne Zoo a couple of kilometres away. I guessed the animals sensed something unusual. Then as the eclipse gradually passed off, the sunlight gradually increased and the animal calls gradually abated. Then all was back to normal, and I switched off the office lights. It was a few minutes I’ll never forget. Though a total solar eclipse usually occurs somewhere on earth each 18 months or so, because one’s seen from a specific geographic location only every 375 years on average, I don’t expect to witness another total solar eclipse in my lifetime. At least I’ve seen, and experienced, one.

farmdoc's blog post number 455

My first post about my medical influences was this one on 25 May 2008 when I wrote about Drs Bell and Doyle. Today I write of another man who had a major effect on the way I doctor. Richard Robert Haynes Lovell (pictured) was born in England in 1918, trained at St Mary’s Hospital in London, and graduated in Medicine in 1941. After five years as a Royal Navy surgeon, he undertook postgraduate studies in London. In 1950 he returned to St Mary’s – first as a Lecturer and then a Senior Lecturer – where his life-long interest in epidemiology began. In 1955 he became Melbourne University’s inaugural Professor of Medicine – based at Alfred Hospital and then at The Royal Melbourne. He was the first Professor of Medicine in Melbourne and, I think, Australia. Though a good clinician and researcher, he was an outstanding teacher. I first experienced his teaching as a fourth year student in 1966. He was a stickler for thorough and rigorous clinical (i.e. interviewing and physical examination) skills. I took to his approach readily, and the book he co-authored, An Introduction to Clinical Medicine, was my clinical bible. In 1971, my second year after graduation, I worked a term in his department as a Senior Resident. It was he who arranged for me to study Statistics and Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene in 1972. From 1973 to 1977 I was on his staff as a Junior Lecturer, during which time I wrote my PhD thesis. After that I had little to do with him. He retired from his Department in 1983, and he died in 2000. The main reason for whatever success I enjoy in my work today, is the scrupulous clinical method he taught me. Thanks, Prof.