2011 INDUCTEE Jonathan Meakins, MD Leadership in Organizational Development

Born:

May 18, 1882

(Hamilton, Ontario)

Died:

October 12, 1959

Education:

MD, McGill University (1904)

Awards & Honours:

1926: Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

1949: Master of the American College of Physicians

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Advanced the status of academic medicine in Canada

An acclaimed clinical scientist

Graduating in medicine from McGill University, Dr. Meakins pursued post-graduate training in the United States before returning to Montreal. By 1912, Dr. Meakins was appointed assistant physician at the Royal Victoria Hospital, lecturer in medicine and pathology, and Director of Experimental Medicine at McGill. After serving in the First World War, he became the Christion Professor of Therapeutics at the University of Edinburgh. In 1924, Dr. Meakins was recruited back to McGill where he assumed the titles of professor and chair of Medicine, physician-in-chief at Royal Victoria Hospital and, perhaps his greatest legacy, director of the McGill University Clinic. It was at the Clinic that Dr. Meakins demonstrated his pioneering spirit by initiating collaborations between basic medical scientists and clinicians.

Key Facts

Was one of the first physicians to administer and study insulin in the UK

Transformed the Royal Victoria into McGill’s major teaching hospital

Became a fellow of multiple Royal Colleges in Britain and Canada

Authored over 230 publications

His textbook The Practice of Medicine was published in its 6th edition in 1956

Served as President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the American College of Physicians, and the Canadian Medical Association

Professional timeline

Impact on lives today

When Dr. Meakins began teaching at McGill University, most faculty members were focused on their private medical practices and had only limited interaction with the medical school. Dr. Meakins’ appointment as the first full-time professor of medicine at McGill and his advocacy of clinical research served as a catalyst for the rising prestige of academic medicine. His model of combined basic science research, teaching, and clinical investigation attracted graduates from across the country and laid out a model of excellence that continues to inform the organization of medical faculties. As a testament to his standards of excellence, many of his former students have become laureates of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.

2011

April 28, 2011
Jonathan Meakins inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

London, Ontario
1972
The Meakins-Christie Laboratories, a research centre for pulmonary pathophysiology, was opened
1950
After his retirement from McGill, Dr. Meakins served as the editor of the American Heart Journal from 1950-1958
1942
Return to War

Returning to military service in World War II, Dr. Meakins became Deputy Director of the Canadian Medical services with the rank of brigadier.
1936
The first edition of the Dr. Meakin’s renowned textbook, The Practice of Medicine, was published
Patient Care
1924
Dr. Jonathan Meakins - Pioneering Administrator
Leadership in Organizational Development
Dr. Meakins returned to Montreal with appointments as Physician-in-Chief at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Chairman of the McGill Department of Medicine, and Director of the McGill University Clinic. At the Clinic, he was a pioneer in the application of scientific methods to the study of disease and was the first full-time member of McGill’s Faculty of Medicine.
1919
The University of Edinburgh

After the war, Dr. Meakins was appointed Christison Professor of Therapeutics and Clinical Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and Physician to the Royal Infirmary.
1914
Service in WWI

During World War I, Dr. Meakins studied gas poisoning and Soldier’s Heart (now known as PTSD).
1912
Dr. Meakins was appointed assistant physician at the Royal Victoria Hospital, lecturer in medicine and pathology, and Director of Experimental Medicine at McGill
1910
Return to Canada

Dr. Meakins returned to Canada and became a demonstrator of medicine and bacteriology at McGill.
1906
Post-Graduate Training

After graduating from medical school, Dr. Meakins continued post-graduate training in the United States—first as an assistant resident in medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and then as resident pathologist at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.