| Notes |
- Dr. Stuart Ramsey succeeded Dr. MacMillan as Chairman (1947-1950) of the university department. Born in Levis, Quebec, Dr. Ramsey had graduated from McGill University with a B.A. in 1908 and M.D.C.M. in 1912. Following graduation, he travelled to China and worked for a year at the Canton Missionary Hospital. Returning to Montreal in 1913, he interned at the MGH where he began a year of pathology. However, with the start of the First World War Dr. Ramsey was on his way to England by
late October 1914. In the war he served with the Black Watch Highlanders and, toward the end of the conflict was transferred to the Indian Medical Services where he served for five years. While in India, he married Juliette Pelletier of Quebec City.
After marrying Juliette, Dr. Ramsey became concerned about the potential problems involved in bringing up a family in a foreign country. As well, he noticed that the senior medical officers of the service had developed a distinct lack of zeal. These factors, in addition to a persistent, chronic sinus condition, which was not improving with his stay on the sub-continent, led him to resign from the Indian Medical Services in 1921. Instead, he had decided to pursue a career in Ophthalmology. His decision to study ophthalmology was in large measure related to his experiences in China and India where he saw many avoidable and treatable eye conditions.
Taking his residency at the Manhattan Eye Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital between 1921 and 1923, Dr. Ramsey was appointed assistant ophthalmologist at the MGH and Demonstrator in the Department of Ophthalmology at McGill University following his graduation. Additionally, he gained experience in periodic visits to ophthalmic centres in London, Paris and Vienna.
By 1941 Dr. Ramsey was appointed Ophthalmologist-in-Chief at the MGH, a position which he kept for ten years, stepping down in 1951.
Furthermore, from 1947 to 1950 he was Chairman of the McGill Department of Ophthalmology and in 1949 was appointed Professor. Retiring from practice in 1969, he was named Emeritus Professor in 1971.
Outside of his own practice, as well as his hospital and teaching duties, Dr. Ramsey was active within the greater Canadian and international
ophthalmology community. In 1951, the Canadian Ophthalmological Society elected Dr. Ramsey as President and, in the early 1950s he served
as Canada’s representative on the International Council of Ophthalmology. This council is the organizing body of the International Congress of Ophthalmology, meeting every four years. In 1954 the Congress was held in both New York City and Montreal. The decision to hold the meeting in two cities was because, during the Cold War, visitors from Iron Curtain countries were not welcome in the United States. As the representative from Canada, which, while restrictive, was not so restrictive as to prevent Soviet ophthalmologists from attending an international meeting, Dr. Ramsey organized a second international council meeting in Montreal on very short notice. His exceptional skills and industry greatly helped make the Congress a success.
During Dr. Ramsey’s tenure the MGH saw its first corneal graft performed by Dr. Wyatt Laws in 1948. The chief at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Dr. Laws had first observed the technique in New York. In Montreal, one of his patients was a felon who was in prison for stealing food because his sight was so reduced he could not see. The prisoner was brought out of prison for the corneal transplant surgery, which was a success. Dr. Laws was a meticulous, excellent surgeon and a first rate teacher. He left Montreal in 1970 because he was not comfortable with the idea of socialized medicine and settled in New York.
However, while an influential and effective member of the ophthalmological community, Dr. Ramsey was, above all, a fine clinician and set a superb example as a physician. He was kind and considerate to his patients, encouraging and helpful to residents and younger ophthalmologists. He guided the Department at a time when clinical excellence and teaching were the priorities. The residency program was gradually being taken in the direction charted by Dr. MacMillan, becoming more formalized. Dr. Ramsey was eventually succeeded by his son, Dr. Bruce Ramsey, who also trained in ophthalmology and joined the Department of Ophthalmology at the MGH and McGill in 1954, where he went on to a distinguished career in ophthalmic plastic surgery.
Beyond his work, Dr. Ramsey was also interested in sports and public affairs, two subjects which he pursued into his final years. While a student, he had captained his hockey and tennis teams, and at the age of 88, as a well known, legendary tennis player, he played his last game at the Montreal Indoor Tennis Club.
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1887 - Yes, date unknown