If you ask anyone who knows him they will tell you, Robert Grissom, M.D., set the standard for quality education and exceptional care at UNMC.
“Dr. Grissom is a real giant in the history of medicine in Nebraska,” said Mike Sorrell, M.D., and professor of internal medicine. “He brought the concept of academic internal medicine to Nebraska.”
On Nov. 10, Dr. Grissom celebrated his 50th anniversary with the medical center, a place he calls home. “I really love being here,” Dr. Grissom said.
When he first came to UNMC in 1953 from the University of Illinois where he was assistant professor of internal medicine, the university was on probation because there was no full-time faculty on staff.
As a teaching fellow in cardiology and a Markle scholar at the time, Dr. Grissom was among four talented doctors recruited to join the faculty as vice chairman and associate professor.
The facilities at the long-standing college were ‘quite meager at the time,’ Dr. Grissom said. And there were only four major clinical departments: Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics and OB/GYN.
A lot has happened since then, he said.
Each of the core departments has grown along with the development of many others, including gastroenterology, genetic research and the construction of The Lied Transplant Center.
“We have also made great strides in infectious diseases and cardiology,” Dr. Grissom said.
The role of women also has changed. At the time he came, Dr. Grissom said there were almost no women enrolled to study medicine at the university. Now, 50 percent of students here are women. “Looking back on it I was fortunate to be invited,” Dr. Grissom said. “To see the changes from then to now has been amazing.”
Dr. Grissom also made gains of his own, rising to become the first full-time chairman of the department of internal medicine in 1956, a position he held until he stepped down in 1970.
Following the chairmanship, Dr. Grissom worked in the cardiology section, serving as acting head of the section from 1970-1972, until his retirement in 1987.
Today Dr. Grissom holds the position of professor emeritus and volunteers his time by continuing to teach first- and second-year medical students as a facilitator of a problem based learning group.
“I feel privileged to do that,” Dr. Grissom said.
But, colleagues say, it is his students who are privileged to be learning from such a pioneer in the field.
“Dr. Grissom is a wonderful role model,” said Dr. Sorrell, who holds the Robert L. Grissom chair of professor of medicine. “He has always been one of my medical heroes.”
As chairman, Dr. Sorrell said Dr. Grissom set very high standards in medical education, medical ethics and in the quality of care and dedication to patients.
Dr. Grissom stressed the importance of intellectual curiosity, research and the fact that the physician should be a life-long learner, he said.
“We were all pretty much in awe of him at the time,” Dr. Sorrell said. “We realized that he was a formidable person in maintaining his ideas and standards in medical education.”
James Armitage, M.D., and dean of the College of Medicine, agrees. “Bob had very high standards,” said Dr. Armitage, also a former student of Dr. Grissom’s. He was tough in the classroom, he said, but also very kind.
As a student, Dr. Armitage said he was particularly impressed observing Dr. Grissom with patients. “I’ll never forget the time I watched him help a patient who had a heart valve abnormality, using just his clinical skills,” Dr. Armitage said. “That’s the single thing I remember the most, watching him with that patient. It showed me some things about being a physician, knowing and caring about the person and their situation, that have stuck with me.”
The wisdom he imparts, the high standards he set for UNMC and his dedication to the profession make Dr. Grissom stand out from others.
“He’s an impressive guy,” Dr. Armitage said.