A special ceremony was held on Friday, March 20, to dedicate the library at the North Carolina Medical Society Center for Leadership in Medicine in honor of all five medical schools in North Carolina—Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine; the University of North Carolina School of Medicine; Duke University School of Medicine; the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Each school contributed $25,000 toward the renovation of the NCMS’ headquarters building in downtown Raleigh.
“The role of the state’s medical schools in training those who will lead our profession into the future is crucial. It is one that we at the NCMS truly support,” Dr. Robert Schaaf, FACR, the current NCMS President told the intimate gathering of the society’s leadership and the deans from four of the state’s five medical schools. “This gathering to honor your generous contribution to our headquarters, also marks what we know will be our continuing collaboration, as together we help shape the future of health care in North Carolina.”
The event was particularly significant because the NCMS is the oldest professional society in the state, founded in 1849 when a group of doctors came together to protect patients from those who had no formal scientific training, but were passing themselves off as ‘doctors.’ Since its inception, the NCMS has always advocated for and supported the educational mission of the state’s medical schools.
Dr. Paul Cunningham, Dean of the Brody School of Medicine at ECU, and also a member of the NCMS Board of Directors, addressed the group of assembled dignitaries from his dual perspective as a medical educator and a leader of the state’s professional society.
“During my tenure on the NCMS Board, I see great synergies between our objectives at Brody and the goals and objectives of the Medical Society,” he said. “These are times of great change in our health care system. It is incumbent on both our medical education programs and our professional organizations to lead and shape the change that is underway. This gathering is a testament to our ability to support each other and work together for the greater good.”
The NCMS Center for Leadership in Medicine, located just three blocks from the General Assembly in downtown Raleigh, was completely renovated over the past two years to provide a focal point and gathering place for the state’s physicians and other organizations in the health care community to address the multitude of issues facing the health care system today and in the future.
The shelves of the library dedicated on Friday include volumes dating back to the mid-19th century, tracing the history of the NCMS, which has protected the patients of North Carolina and promoted the profession of medicine for 166 years.
As Dr. Dev Sangvai, NCMS’ Immediate Past President, summed up: “The NCMS and each of the medical education programs in North Carolina have an unprecedented opportunity to come together to lead the profession through an exciting, but daunting time in health care. Through open dialogue and consistent communication, we truly are leadership in medicine.”