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US Section NewsArno Roscher, MD. awarded Honorary Fellowship
Remarks by Prof. Nadey Hakim regarding Honorary Fellowship to Arno A. Roscher, MD. It is my distinct pleasure and privilege to have a role in this most important and auspicious occasion! Dr. Roscher is a member of the world medical profession and a distinguished Fellow in the International College of Surgeons. He came to the United States in 1955, became a citizen of the United States in 1964, and has been practicing medicine for 50 years! It is particularly fitting that he be presented this great honor of Honorary Fellowship in the International College of Surgeons on his golden anniversary in medicine. His professional life, and I am certain his personal life as well, may be characterized as one of great accomplishment, leadership, and courage. He has distinguished himself by completing medical school Magna Cum Laude in 1954 at Ludwig-Maximillan University, Munich, Germany. His following academic credentials are at the same level, with training at several universities and hospitals in the United States. Yet, he also realized that it is necessary to interact with, as he says, the “highest people around”, leaders in the world medical profession. His focus was always on excellence. He was attracted by the philosophy of Professor Max Thorek—a surgeon is a “Captain”, but Captains cannot work without other persons in affiliated medical fields, such as Dr. Roscher's chosen field of pathology. This philosophy of course was the forerunner of today's team approach in medicine and surgery and is indicative of the wisdom, understanding, and foresight that Dr. Arno Roscher had and still has of medicine and surgery. When asked about the moments and endeavors of which he is most proud in his life in medicine, he first said “everything”, and quite rightly so. He then followed that comment by emphasizing “teaching young medical students” in medical school. Dr. Roscher's philosophy is that young medical students should have the opportunity to know about the experiences of senior medical persons in both the science of medicine and in the ethics of medicine. Dr. Roscher is always proud to emphasize, that he was born in Albert Einstein's birthplace, Ulm, Germany, a state of Baden-Wuttenberg, which was used by the Romans 2000 years ago as a staging ground for the conquests of France and England. After his training period following graduation in 1954, he served as a surgical intern at the University Polyclinic Hospital in Munich. This was followed by a rotating internship, with emphasis on surgery, at the White Plains Hospital in New York in 1955. Following that, he decided to go into pathology, feeling he needed more education in basic science in the most important field of Pathology. He served as a first and second year resident at the Duval Medical Center, University of Jacksonville, Florida, and St. Vincent Hospital from 1956 to 1958 and subsequently completed his training in pathology, serving as a resident in clinical pathology at the Commonwealth University Hospital Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia from 1958 to 1960. His commitment to teaching is highlighted by his service as a Teaching Fellow at the Medical College in Richmond, Virginia and subsequently serving as Assistant Clinical Professor at the California College of Medicine CCM, University of California Irvine UCI, to be followed by the University of Southern California, now Keck School of Medicine, from 1971 to present, as Assistant, Associate, and Clinical Professor. His professional/private practice included service as an Associate Pathologist at St. Joseph Hospital Medical Center in Burbank, California from 1960 to 1965, and then as Director of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Co-Director of Nuclear Medicine of Granada Hills Community Hospital from 1965 to 2003, and Director of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital from 1966 to 2001. He is an Honorary Member of Henry Mayo and Providence Holy Cross Medical Center Medical Staff. He is also Emeritus Pathologist of Los Angeles County Pathology Society. He is also a member of many National and International Medical Societies. As founding and cofounding member of the cancer programs of both Granada Hills Hospital and Henry Mayo Hospital, he was instrumental in securing approval from the American College of Surgeons (ACS) for complete hospital cancer programs. He served as Director and later as Emeritus Director of Continuing Medical Education for the Granada Hills Hospital. He was instrumental in the production of a total of 33 annual symposia of surgical and medical topics for the Los Angeles Medical Community at large. The symposia were directed and chaired by distinguished members of the medical staff including Drs. Felmar, Endlich, Palazzolo, Dua, Rodriguez, Jaffe, Nagaraja, Nahed, Rosenbluth, Lawson, Reddy, Gemmingen, and Padmanabhan and later ultimately by Dr. Bonabi from the California Institute of Diabetes. In the later years, the symposia were heavily directed to discussions in vital topics in diabetes and diabetic complications. Stellar highlights of those symposia included the contribution by Dr. Samuel L. Rahbar, who discovered the AC1 hemoglobin and Nobel Laureate Furid Murragh. The co-sponsoring institutions with those annual symposia included (CSUN) California State University Northridge, (UCI) University of California Irvine, (USC) University of Southern California, Loma Linda University, as well as University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Roscher served for many years as Director of a United States sponsored national program for foreign medical students, leading to full state licensure. Dr. Roscher initially became involved with the International College of Surgeons in 1968, and has served the College well in a large number of capacities - from Secretary, President, and Regent, Outstanding Regent, and Honorary Regent of the California Division, to World Governor of the International College of Surgeons, International parent body. Dr. Roscher has served, in addition to those capacities, as National Chairman of the audio-visual program, as National Chairman of Pathology, as well as the founder and producer of “Pathology for the Surgeon”, at the ICS annual meeting from 1982 in San Antonio, to the present time. Dr. Roscher is currently an Associate Editor of the “International Surgery Journal” and “Cardiac Surgery”, two stellar international surgical journals. Dr. Roscher is a diplomat of the American Board of Pathology, certified both in anatomic/surgical and clinical pathology. Dr. Roscher served as a Hospital Laboratory Inspector for the College of American Pathologists on several occasions in the mid-70s or 80s. Dr. Roscher served as Scientific Program Chairman of the fifth Western Hemisphere Congress of the International College of Surgeons in 1972 in San Diego. Dr. Roscher served as Scientific Program Chairman in the mid-80s at the Hollywood Academy of Medicine. His scientific interests and contributions to literature include a multitude of topics including radiation pathology, oncological surgical topics, FNA pathology, as well as many topics involving cardiac surgery, bypass surgery, and cardiac revascularization pathology. The many venues at which he has spoken at scientific meetings included, in addition to many in the United States, for instance San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York; international locations including London, UK; Tokyo Japan; Sidney Australia; New Delhi, India; San Paolo and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Jerusalem, Israel; Cairo, Egypt; Berlin, Germany; Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary; Rome, Italy; Stockholm, Sweden; and most recently, Prague, Czech Republic. I believe that you now understand, if not before, why Dr. Arno Roscher is being presented with the Honorory Fellowship in the International College of Surgeons. We congratulate him and give him our very best wishes for continued success in the pursuit of excellence in medicine and in all other aspects of his life. Prof. Nadey Hakim |
