Dr. "Sully" Sullivan was Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs from 1968 until his death in 1990. Originally from Nashville, TN, Dr. Sullivan came to the U of M in 1947 as a resident under Dr. Owen Wangensteen. Dr. Sullivan is probably most well-known for his personal interviews with each Medical School applicant. Dr. Sullivan had the ability to separate the self-assured from the self-absorbed. He was a strong believer in a well-rounded education that gave physicians the ability to relate to their patients on a personal level.

I could find little archival material related to Dr. Sullivan, let alone his 10 rules. I paged through a clippings file with various articles on his service to the Medical School and a few obituaries. It became evident that Dr. Sullivan may have never recorded his advice for medical students.

And then I found it.

In the August 1990 issue of The Cutting Edge, the Department of Surgery's newsletter, there was a reprint of Dr. Henry Blackburn's eulogy for Dr. Sullivan. At the end of his prepared remarks, Dr. Blackburn noted that "in keeping with Sullivan's own fabled love of language and zest for communication, it is fitting to allow him the last word."

And, here they are for you. Dr. Albert Sullivan's 10 rules for new med students (and 5 absolute truths for the rest of us):

1. If money is the only thing that leads you into medicine, you might as well give up now.

2. If you want to be in charge all the time, then start your own business where you can call the shots.

3. Medicine is fun, and in contrast to many other professions or skills, people rarely leave it.

4. Any physician who stops learning after medical school is doomed to mediocrity, to poor medicine.

5. The human component of your existence that says you are just as selfish and egocentric as all the rest of those persons who have gone into medicine will keep you going and lead you to that position where you do indeed heal the sick, comfort the afflicted, and have one hell of a magnificent time doing so.

6. You must continue to utilize [your] other interests while in medical school, whatever they may be – athletics, music, painting, etc. If you don't you’ll be perfectly miserable, and you’ll make a lousy physician.

7. There will be many times when situations arise in which you will need assistance. You are equipped to handle these crises if you take advantage of the resources common to all Medical Students: your own good brains, the support of friends and family, and our Office of Student Affairs.

8. Medicine is not a science or an art. Things are not black or white, but rather shades of gray. The make of really mature medical students is that they can tolerate the ambiguities and uncertainties, as well as the discrepancies of different teachers, knowing that each represents the truth as he or she sees it.

9. As a group you have a high degree of social orientation and desire to be helpful to the patients you will treat. However, it does no good whatsoever to sympathize completely with patients if you don’t know what is happening at their cellular level or if you don't know what organism is causing their infection.

10. Don't ever get so over involved with the technical aspects that you forget about the humanness of the people you are treating. This sensitivity and feeling must be combined with your scientific competence in order for you to become a competent and thoughtful physician.

Five fundamental and absolute truths:

1. E=MC2
2. There is no cure for the common cold.
3. There are more horse's asses in the world than there are horses.
4. Excrement always flows downward.
5. If you're treed by a bear, enjoy the view.

While waiting in the examine room to learn about my dog’s test results, I began to wonder about the history of the VMC and the care it provides.

Clinical veterinary work first began at the University in 1888 with the appointment of the University’s first veterinarian, Michael Treacy. For the next 60 years, veterinary medicine was taught and practiced as part of the curriculum of the School of Agriculture. In 1947 the School of Veterinary Medicine was established and later reorganized into the College of Veterinary Medicine.

The Veterinary Medical Center grew out of the original veterinary clinics associated with the School of Veterinary Medicine. The clinic on the St Paul campus received state funding to construct new facilities, which opened in 1950. The Veterinary Clinic was to serve as "a hospital for animals just as the University Hospitals on the Minneapolis Campus are devoted to caring for humans. In the hospital, students will be able to observe treatment given by trained University veterinarians to ill animals." You can read more about the 1950 dedication ceremony in the pamphlet below.

The Veterinary Clinic was reorganized as the Veterinary Hospital in 1969. It was renamed the Veterinary Medical Center in 2003 to better reflect the advanced care and outpatient services it provides.

The Lewis Hospital for Companion Animals is a component of the VMC and was dedicated in 1983. It was named after the MN State Senator Robert Lewis, an advocate for promoting health and welfare in various communities and who was also a trained DVM. There is a plaque honoring Senator Lewis behind the check-in desk above the floor scale.

As for my beagle, he was treated aggressively and released. All signs show him to be in good health. Thank you to all the staff that took great care of him!

Originally from Michigan, Dean Harris' early career focused on psychiatry nursing and institutional care. She earned her diploma in nursing from Johns Hopkins after earning a BA from the University of Michigan. During World War II she served in the Johns Hopkins medical unit in Australia. After her service she returned to Michigan for a year and then was invited by Katharine Densford, Director of the School of Nursing, to come to Minnesota to help establish a program in psychiatric nursing. Harris earned an MEd and PhD at Minnesota and later specialized in nursing administration and education. During her time as dean, Harris focused on growing the nursing program through increasing student retention, hiring talented faculty, and working toward the expansion of space. Dean Harris finished her term as dean in 1975 and retired from teaching in 1981. The School of Nursing moved into its new building (Unit F/Weaver-Densford Hall) that same year.

In an interview conducted with Dean Harris in 1999 she stated that "I'd always wanted to be a nurse or at least since I was five years old." Her devotion and commitment to the profession and the University are reflected in the School of Nursing today.

When the $125 million, 566,000 square feet hospital opened in 1986 it held 432 beds, had 18 operating rooms including a transplant suite, and housed the Variety Club Children’s Hospital on the fifth floor. Eight-five percent of the patient rooms had a view of the Mississippi River. The opening week festivities for the new hospital also included a commemorative time capsule to be opened in 2086.

First proposed in the 1968 health science precinct plan, Unit J provided a centralized hospital facility that would replace many of the services offered in the Mayo Medical Center and other buildings. It is located on the former site of Powell Hall originally a dormitory for nurses.

To learn more about the position and oral history project, please view the complete position description or see the job ad posted to H-Net.