![Alfred Worcester ca 1878](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Alfred_Worcester_ca_1878.jpg)
Alfred Worcester (1855–1951) was a
general practitioner in
Waltham, Massachusetts
Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...
, known for pioneering work in patient care, the treatment of
appendicitis
Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...
, and the use of
Caesarean section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...
.
Biography
Alfred Worcester was born in Waltham on June 22, 1855. He earned AB at
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
,
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
, in 1878 and MD at
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
in 1883. He entered practice in Waltham in 1884 and founded the Waltham Hospital and Training School for Nurses the following year. He married Elizabeth Joy Hill (1854–1951), the daughter of a former president of Harvard College, in 1886. They had no children. Other accomplishments included: founded the Rutland Sanatorium (for care of tuberculosis), 1895; admonished the physicians of eastern Canada to allow the founding of the Victorian Order of Nurses, 1897; president of the Obstetrical Society of Boston, 1899; founded Waltham Baby Hospital, 1902; Major in
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
, Switzerland, 1918–1919; president of the
Massachusetts Medical Society
The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the oldest continuously operating state medical association in the United States. Incorporated on November 1, 1781, by an act of the Massachusetts General Court, the MMS is a non-profit organization th ...
1919–1921; professor of hygiene, Harvard College, 1925–1935. He died August 28, 1951, and his wife died six days later at their home in Waltham.
Accomplishments
He was called a pioneer in the organization, practice, training, and science of medical and nursing care. He originated the concept of teaching about the care of the patient that would be applicable to all medical specialties. He was an early adopter of
appendectomy
An appendectomy, also termed appendicectomy, is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedure to treat complicated acu ...
for appendicitis and of Caesarean section for complicated labor. He advocated for compassionate medical care and counseling for college students and was Harvard College's second Professor of Hygiene. He was a prolific writer and speaker and was deeply religious. He gave lectures and sermons across the United States and Canada.
Because of his innovations, he was often involved in controversy. He suffered several life-threatening illnesses, including appendicitis, which informed his approach to patient care. Scientific medicine was on the rise while he advocated preserving humanistic medicine. Including practical experience in home care during nurses' training, which he organized at the Waltham Training School for Nurses, was frowned upon by hospital-based nursing school administrators of the day.
Appendectomy
In the 1880s, appendicitis was treated expectantly, by waiting for a walled-off abscess to form, with incision and drainage via anterior or posterior approach, and was often fatal. The innovation that Worcester adopted was to operate earlier and earlier in the course of the disease and to enter the peritoneum to do so. At first, this was by open lavage of the peritoneal cavity and removal of what was left of the ruptured appendix. Later, he found that he could usually operate before the appendix had ruptured, and prevent generalized peritonitis and abscess formation, and greatly reduce morbidity and mortality. The reports of his cases and the controversy between him and the surgeons of Boston demonstrate the evolution of medical and surgical practice and the contribution of generalists to specialty care.
Geriatrics, palliative care, and patient care
Dr. Francis Peabody's noted statement, "the secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient," was delivered in a series of lectures initiated by Worcester. Some of the lectures, including Worcester's on the care of the aged and the care of the dying, were published in a collection in 1929. Worcester's lectures were then published on their own in 1935, together with a third lecture on the care of the dead. This book went into a second edition and several printings, the last being in 1977. Dame
Cicely Saunders
Dame Cicely Mary Strode Saunders (22 June 1918 – 14 July 2005) was an English nurse, social worker, physician and writer. She is noted for her work in terminal care research and her role in the birth of the hospice movement, emphasising the i ...
, the leader of the
palliative care
Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...
movement in the United Kingdom, was inspired by Worcester's book during her training.
[Saunders C. Letter. ''AM J HOSP PALLIAT CARE''. 1992;9(4):2.] In this book, Worcester states,
Worcester's consult on a case in a memoir of turn-of-the-century
Malden, Massachusetts
Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people.
History
Malden, a hilly woodland area north of the Mystic River, was settled by Puritans in 1640 on la ...
, includes this observation:
References
External links
Waltham Historical Society"First Patriots' Day, The: An Eyewitness Account By Dr. Alfred Worcester"– In 1950, Parker Wheatley, General Manager, Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council, interviewed 95-year-old Worcester about his memory of his great-grandmother telling him, in about 1860, of the
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, ...
in 1775.
Painting of Worcester, 1928Photo of Worcester, c1878Photo of Worcester, 1947Nurses for Our NeighborsSmall Hospitals: Establishment and MaintenanceTraining Schools for Nurses in Small CitiesMonthly NursingHistory of Appendicitis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worcester, Alfred
1855 births
1951 deaths
People from Waltham, Massachusetts
Harvard Medical School alumni
Physicians from Massachusetts