Fonds - Dr. Ian Rusted fonds

Ian Edwin Lawman Hollands Rusted (1921-2007), physician, and the first Dean of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, was born in Upper Island Cove, Newfoundland on 12 July 1921, the son of Reverend Canon Ernest E. Rusted and Faith Hollands Rusted. Dr. Rusted married Ellen Marie Hansen on 8 September 1949 and they had two sons, Brian and Christopher.

Dr. Rusted completed his early schooling at St. James High School, Carbonear and Bishop Feild College, St. John’s. He spent two years at Memorial University College, St. John’s (1938-1940), graduating with a pre-med Diploma in 1940. He next attended Trinity College, University of Toronto, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (1943). Dr. Rusted went on to medical studies at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he completed a rotating internship at Victoria General and Associated Hospitals (1947-1948), and an M.D., C.M. (1948). Dr. Rusted then attended McGill University where he earned a Master of Science degree (1949).

While at McGill University, Dr. Rusted was awarded a National Research Council grant to support research at the McGill University Clinic, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal (1 June 1948 – 1 Oct 1949). Dr. Rusted was awarded a Fellowship in Medicine from the Mayo Foundation and continued post-graduate studies and worked part–time as an assistant to staff at the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota (October 1949-1952). He became the first Newfoundlander to pass the Fellowship examinations of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (October 1952). Although he was invited to continue work and studies at the Mayo Clinic, the Royal Victoria Hospital and McGill University, Dr. Rusted’s experience on the Labrador coast during two summers spent working on the Newfoundland government coastal boat S.S. Kyle and his childhood in the province led him to return home to Newfoundland.

Dr. Rusted returned to Newfoundland in 1952 and specialized in internal medicine. He was the Medical Consultant to the provincial Department of Health, full-time (1952-1955) and part time (1955-1967), visiting cottage hospitals and other provincial institutions and working closely with rural doctors. He held several positions at the General Hospital, St. John’s, including: Director of Medical Education (1953-1967); Director of the Memorial University Research Unit (1966-1974); and Chairman of the Department of Medicine (1967-1968). He was also involved in private practice from 1955 to 1967. During that time (1962-1964) he created a group practice known as the Medical Consultant’s Group with Dr. P. A. Spurrell and Dr. Hans Epstein, fellow specialists in internal medicine. In 1964, Dr. J. B. Roberts, Dr. D. W. Ingram and Dr. Robert Young joined the group.

Dr. Rusted pioneered the development of formal postgraduate and continuing medical education programs in Newfoundland (1952-1967). These programs received national and international recognition and their success contributed to the decision on the part of the federal and provincial governments to establish one of the four proposed medical schools in the country at Memorial University of Newfoundland. In 1966, Dr. Rusted became Director of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Coordinator of Planning for the proposed new Medical School at Memorial University. In that year he completed affiliation agreements with the four major hospitals in St. John’s. The Faculty of Medicine was established at Memorial University in 1967 and Dr. Ian Rusted was appointed the first dean and professor of medicine at the school. He served as Dean of Medicine until 1974 when he was appointed Vice-President of Memorial University (Health Sciences), (1974-1979) and then Vice President (Health Sciences and Professional Schools), a position that he held from 1979 until his retirement in 1988. Dr. Rusted was appointed Chairman, Labrador Institute of Northern Studies and Pro Vice-Chancellor (1981-1988) with responsibilities that included the development of the Labrador Institute of Northern Studies and Memorial University’s Gerontology Centre.

Dr. Rusted held a number of professional and academic memberships and appointments throughout his career including: Chairman, Medical Education Committee, Newfoundland Medical Association (1957-1965); Fellow (1954), Member of Council (1962-1970), and Vice-President (1968-1970) of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Dr. Rusted was an Executive Member (1971-1974) and Vice President (1973-1974) of the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges. In addition, Dr. Rusted held the positions of Fellow (1960), Life Member (1968), Governor (1977-1981), and Regent (1982-1988), of the American College of Physicians. He was also a member of the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Diabetes Association (Clinical and Scientific Section), the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (Member of Council, 1960-1966), the American Thyroid Association, the American Endocrine Society, and the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Dr. Rusted authored many articles, scientific papers and book chapters including a chapter in New Medical Schools at Home and Abroad (Macy Foundation, 1978), in which he gives a detailed account of the development of the medical school in Newfoundland. He contributed articles to many journals: Circulation; American Journal of Medicine; N.M.A. Newsletter; among others. Dr. Rusted’s varied interests were represented by the papers he gave at both national and international medical society meetings throughout his career and after his retirement. These included an early presentation in Columbus, Ohio in 1951 entitled “The Significance of Calcification in the Mitral Valve.” In 1965 he presented “The Choice of Insulins” at the Regional Meeting of the American College of Physicians, Halifax, N.S. He gave an invited presentation “Thyroid Cancer: Selected International and Personal Perspectives” at the XVII International Congress of Internal Medicine, Bogota, Colombia, August 1986 and in 1996 presented the paper “Shared Influences Upon the Fathers of Medicine and History” at the 35th International Congress on the History of Medicine, Kos, Greece, September 2-8, 1996.

Dr. Rusted was the recipient of many honours and awards including: Honourary Member, College of Family Physicians in Canada, 1959; Visiting Professor, University of Toronto, 1974-1975; Professor Invite, Laval University, 1975; Honourary L.L.D. Dalhousie University, Halifax, 1978; St. John’s Citizen of the Year, 1979; Honourary L.L.D. Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, 1983; Honourary D.S.L., Trinity College, University of Toronto, 1991; Honourary Life Membership Award, Newfoundland Medical Association, 1989; Dean Emeritus, Memorial University, 1988; and Officer of the Order of Canada, 1985. Dr. Rusted was also a member of the Canadian Armed Forces Active Reserve serving in the RCAF as Squadron Leader, 1954-1960.

Dr. Ian Rusted retired from Memorial University in 1989. He died on 14 July 2007 at the age of 86. His wife, Ellen, lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland.