John Wishart (May 27, 1850 – November 6, 1926) was a Canadian

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

and pioneer medical educator. Wishart was the first professor of surgery at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

. He was a pioneer surgical educator in Canada prior to the Flexner Report. Some of his lectures are preserved as student notes by the library at the

. His resignation after 27 years as Professor of Clinical Surgery may have been due to

Flexner Flexner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Abraham Flexner (1866–1959), American educator, author of the Flexner Report * Bernard Flexner (1882–1946), New York lawyer, prominent member of the Zionist Organization of America ...

's negative comments about the school. Wishart was a founding fellow of the

American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeons created in 1913.American College of Surgeons Online "What is the American College of Surgeons?"/ref> See also *American College of Physicians The American College o ...

. Wishart was educated at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

at the same time as

William Osler Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet, (; July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first Residency (medicine), residency program for spec ...

. As a young surgeon in 1874, he assisted Abraham Groves in one of the first operations to use modern aseptic technique. In 1886, he performed an appendectomy becoming an early practitioner of that surgery. Wishart published early articles regarding several surgical procedures, including nephrectomy and strangulated inguinal hernia After leaving the University of Western Ontario, he became the founding surgeon-in-chief at the newly built St Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario. Despite being

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, he had an excellent relationship with the Catholic

Sisters of St. Joseph The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for S ...

who ran the hospital.Hennessey G (Sister). Chronicles of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of London, Ontario, 1868–1932. Sisters of St. Joseph’s of London Archives, St. Josephs Hospital, London

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wishart, John 1850 births 1926 deaths Canadian surgeons