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Celebrating Black History Month: Meet Alabama’s First African-American Physician

Posted by admin on February 10, 2017

Dr. Cornelius Nathanial Dorsett was born a slave sometime between 1852 and 1859 in Davidson County, NC. He was separated from his mother, when she was sold, when he was just 2 months old. He was also the first African-American to pass the Alabama State Medical Examination.

Once slavery ended, Dr. Dorsett attended Hampton Institute in Virginia and graduated in 1878. He went to the Medical College in Syracuse, NY, but failed to graduate because of poor health and lack of funds. After his health improved, he attempted to enter the Medical College of New York City but was denied admission because of his race. Subsequently, the University of Buffalo in New York accepted him, and he was able to graduate from there in 1882. This was accomplished only after one of his former employers agreed to pay his tuition.

After completing medical school, he worked in an insane asylum in Detroit, MI. There he was able to raise enough money to allow him to move to Montgomery, Ala. in 1884.

Dr. Dorsett was the first African-American to pass the Alabama state medical examination. In the 1800s that test was a six-day written and oral test. Learning that a black person had accomplished this feat, many white physicians said they were astonished he “had enough brains to write a better examination than many whites.” Booker T. Washington wrote of Dr. Dorsett in his memoirs and stated: “Many white physicians welcomed him as a colleague in arms.” Some also offered their services to help him start his private practice in Montgomery.

Dr. Dorsett helped organize the National Medical Association, which continues today as the largest organization for African-American physicians. In addition to his successful medical practice, he owned an office building, operated a drug store, and established the first hospital for African-Americans in Alabama. Dr. Dorsett died in Montgomery in 1897.

Contributed by Jefferson Underwood III, M.D., F.A.C.P., President of the Medical Association’s Board of Censors

Tags: African-American, black, february, history

Posted in: Members

AMA Posthumously Honors Dr. Jeff Terry

Posted by admin on November 22, 2016

During its recent Interim Meeting the American Medical Association posthumously awarded Dr. Jeff Terry the AMA Special Award for Meritorious Service in recognition of his contributions to the medical profession. Dr. Terry’s wife, Elizabeth, and their son, Dr. William J. Terry, Jr., accepted the award on behalf of the family.

Dr. Terry was nominated for this award by the Medical Association and also received endorsements from physician leaders across the country. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) offered the following tribute: “Beyond serving his family and community, Dr. Jeff Terry genuinely cared about the future of the medical profession. His contributions to the policy-making process were absolutely invaluable. I am privileged to say that Dr. Terry was a fellow American and a colleague as a physician. He was a blessing to many.”

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) recently described Dr. Terry as “a consummate physician advocate for patients” who always punctuated his advocacy efforts by reminding him that “if we don’t get this right we will not be able to care for patients the way we should.”

Drs. Greg Cooper and Bill Clark, former Southeastern Delegation colleagues of Dr. Terry’s, offered the following endorsement: “We in the Southeastern Delegation will feel Jeff’s presence whenever we rise to speak to important issues that impact the practice of medicine. When we do, because of him, we will be less self-conscious, more passionate, and more determined to carry forward the work of the AMA.”

AMA Delegation Chair Dr. Jorge Alsip also remembered his friend and colleague. “Jeff was a fierce defender of the patient-physician relationship and a force to be reckoned with in the AMA House of Delegates. The sacrifices he made traveling across the country to advocate for patients and physicians set an example that few can ever hope to emulate.”

In his remarks to the AMA House of Delegates Dr. William Terry recalled his father’s love for the AMA and the privilege of being a physician, and he concluded with the following challenge to the AMA House of Delegates: “Dad would tell us that if we sometimes find the practice of medicine to be a cold place, then make it your business to build fires.”

Tags: AMA, Terry

Posted in: Members

Dr. John Meigs Named AAFP President

Posted by admin on September 29, 2016

Congratulations to Medical Association Board Member John Meigs Jr., M.D., of Centreville, who was recently named President of the American Academy of Family Physicians. The AAFP represents more than 124,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. As President, Dr. Meigs will be an advocate nationwide for family physicians and patients to improve family health care.

Dr. Meigs is an At-Large Member of the Medical Association’s Board of Censors who began his medical career in private practice in Centreville, Alabama, his hometown, and practiced there from 1982 to 2013. In 2013, he merged with another practice to become a part of Bibb Medical Associates, which is housed in a clinic at Bibb Medical Center, a 25-bed rural hospital in Centreville. He also serves as chief of staff at Bibb Medical Center.

A former speaker of the House of Delegates and College of Counselors for the Medical Association of the State of Alabama, Dr. Meigs currently serves as a member of its Board of Censors. In addition, he is a member of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners and the chair of the State Committee on Public Health. He also serves on the Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board and the Alabama Board of Medical Scholarships.

Dr. Meigs is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, and a clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham. In 2003, he was awarded the University of Alabama School of Medicine Argus Award for Best Attending Physician in Family Medicine. He also serves as adjunct clinical faculty for the Cahaba Family Medicine Residency Program in his home town of Centreville. In 2014, he was inducted into the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame.

An active member of his community, Meigs serves on the Board of Directors of Distinguished Young Women of Bibb County, a scholarship program for high school senior girls. He was president of that organization from 1995 to 2015. In 2004, he was named Bibb County Citizen of the Year by the Kiwanis Club of Centreville.

Before being named AAFP president-elect, Dr. Meigs served four years as speaker and three years as vice speaker of the organization’s governing body, the Congress of Delegates. He has been an active member of the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians, serving on its board of directors, including terms as president and chair. Dr. Meigs also was vice president of the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, the charitable arm of the organization, from 2003 to 2008. He also serves on the Alabama Family Practice Rural Health Board and the Alabama Board of Medical Scholarship Awards.

Dr. Meigs is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Alabama and a clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. In 2003, he was awarded the University of Alabama School of Medicine Argus Award for “Best Attending Physician in Family Medicine.”

He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama and his medical degree from the University of South Alabama. He completed his family medicine residency at the University of Alabama Birmingham Selma Family Practice Residency Program where he also served as chief resident. Dr. Meigs is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and has the AAFP Degree of Fellow.

The Medical Association congratulates Dr. Meigs for continuing to be a strong advocate for medicine in Alabama and on the national stage as a mentor and leader for our country’s physicians.

Posted in: Members