Ralph Milton Waters (October 9, 1883 – December 19, 1979) was an American anesthesiologist known for introducing professionalism into the practice of anesthesia.

Medical career

Waters attended Western Reserve University Medical School and started a private practice focusing on

obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

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upon graduation. Eventually, he turned the attention of his practice to anesthesia. In 1919, he published the landmark paper, “Why The Professional Anesthetist,” describing the inadequacies of anesthetic practices across the country. By 1927, his reputation had grown such that he was recruited as a professor at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. There, he set up the country's first separate department of anesthesia at a medical school and established a resident training program in anesthesia. For example, the photograph shows Dr. Waters in 1937, with fifteen male residents and one female resident, Dr.

Virginia Apgar Virginia Apgar (June 7, 1909August 7, 1974) was an American physician, obstetrical anesthesiologist and medical researcher, best known as the inventor of the Apgar Score, a way to quickly assess the health of a newborn child immediately after bir ...

. Among his contributions to the field were the development of the gas

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for clinical use, the carbon dioxide absorption method, and endobronchial anesthesia for

thoracic surgery Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thoracic cavity — generally treatment of conditions of the heart (heart disease), lungs (lung disease), and other pleural or mediastinal stru ...

."History of Anesthetic Practice" https://www.scribd.com/doc/76444717/Sir-Ralph-Water Waters was instrumental in outsourcing his resident training model to other universities and hospitals, including

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...

, where he sent his assistant, Emery Rovenstine in 1935; and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, where his protege Robert Dripps implemented the model. He invented an oropharyngeal airway made up of metal, now known as Water's Airway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Ralph 1883 births 1979 deaths American anesthesiologists University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Case Western Reserve University alumni