Difference between revisions of "Norman Bethune" - New World Encyclopedia

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(New page: {{Claimed}} thumb|right|200px|Dr. Norman Bethune 1922 '''Dr. Henry Norman Bethune,''' MD (March 3, 1890 – November...)
 
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[[Image:Norman Bethune graduation 1922.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Dr. Norman Bethune 1922]] '''Dr. Henry Norman Bethune,''' [[Doctor of Medicine|MD]] (March 3, 1890 – November 12, 1939) was a [[Canada|Canadian]] [[physician]], medical innovator, and [[humanitarian]]. In [[Chinese language|Chinese]], he is known as "Bai Qiuen" (白求恩).
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[[Image:Norman Bethune graduation 1922.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Dr. Norman Bethune 1922]] '''Dr. Henry Norman Bethune,''' [[Doctor of Medicine|MD]] (March 3, 1890 – November 12, 1939) was a [[Canada|Canadian]] [[physician]], medical innovator, and [[humanitarian]]. His own experiences of being wounded by shrapnel in [[World War I]], and recovering from pulmonary [[tuberculosis]] as a young man, gave him a deep sense of compassion for the sick and unfortunate. In Canada, he observed that his poorest patients often became sick again because of their unhealthy living conditions, and campaigned for [[socialized medicine]]. He became an outstanding thoracic surgeon. Between 1929 and 1936, Bethune invented or redesigned twelve medical and surgical instruments, and wrote fourteen articles describing his innovations in thoracic surgical technique. He became increasingly disillusioned with surgical treatment and concerned with the socioeconomic aspects of disease. After a visit to the [[Soviet Union]] in 1935, Bethune joined the [[Communist Party]].
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In 1936, he went to [[Madrid]] to lead the Canadian Medical Unit during the [[Spanish Civil War]]. Bethune's work in Spain in developing mobile medical units was the model for the later development of [[Mobile Army Surgical Hospital]] (MASH) units. The need to provide [[blood transfusion]]s in a battlefield led him to develop the first practical method for transporting blood. In 1938, Bethune went to [[China]] to aid the Chinese [[Red Army]] in [[Second Sino-Japanese War|their war with Japan]], performing [[battlefield medicine|battlefield surgical operations]] on war casualties. He worked with carpenters and blacksmiths to forge new surgical tools, and established training for doctors, nurses and orderlies. Bethune died in [[China]] in 1939 of blood poisoning. A number of schools have been named for him, and monuments in both China and Canada commemorate his selfless service to humanity. In [[Chinese language|Chinese]], he is known as "Bai Qiuen" (白求恩).
  
 
==Biography==
 
==Biography==
  
<!--  Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:Dr_Bethune_In_Battlefield.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Dr. Bethune performing a surgical operation close to a battlefield, Oct 1939, by prominent Chinese photographer Wu Yinxian]] —>
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The son of Christian missionaries, Dr. Bethune was born March 3, 1980, in [[Gravenhurst, Ontario]], [[Canada]]. His grandfather, Norman Bethune, Sr., was also a noted Canadian physician and founder of one of the first [[medical school]]s in [[Toronto]].
The son of Christian missionaries, Dr. Bethune was born in [[Gravenhurst, Ontario]], [[Canada]]. His grandfather, [[Norman Bethune, Sr.|Norman Bethune]] was also a noted Canadian physician and founder of one of the first [[medical school]]s in [[Toronto]].
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After completing his medical studies at the [[University of Toronto]], in the midst of which he worked for a year as a laborer-teacher with [[Frontier College]], Bethune moved to Montreal where he was associated with [[McGill University]] and taught thoracic surgery. Bethune was an early proponent of [[universal health care]], the success of which he observed during a visit to the [[Soviet Union]]. As a doctor in [[Montreal]], Bethune frequently sought out the poor and gave them free medical care.
 +
 
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In 1915, he joined the the No.2 Field Ambulance Medical Corps in France, where, as a stretcher-bearer in Ypres , he was hit by shrapnel and spent three months recovering in an English hospital. Afterwards, Bethune continued his studies at the University of Toronto, and re-enlisted as a  surgeon in the British navy, spending the last six months of the war as a medical officer with Canadian airmen in France.  
  
After completing his medical studies at the [[University of Toronto]] (having also, mid-program, worked for a year as a labourer-teacher with [[Frontier College]]), Bethune moved to Montreal where he was associated with [[McGill University]] and taught thoracic surgery. Bethune was an early proponent of [[universal health care]], the success of which he observed during a visit to the [[Soviet Union]]. As a doctor in [[Montreal]], Bethune frequently sought out the poor and gave them free medical care. In 1915, he joined the the No.2 Field Ambulance Medical Corps in France, where, as a stretcher-bearer, he was hit by shrapnel and spent three months recovering in an English hospital.  
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In 1916, he received his M.D. and completed postgraduate training in Britain. He entered private practice in [[Detroit]], Michigan, but in 1926 he became ill and was found to have contracted pulmonary [[tuberculosis]]. He left Detroit and went to Calydor Sanitorium in Gravenhurst, Ontario. His wife, Frances, was determined to stay by his side, but Bethune believed his death was inevitable and demanded a divorce because he did not want to waster her time. She returned to her home in Scotland, but they continued to correspond frequently and remained close.  
  
As a thoracic [[Surgery|surgeon]], he travelled to [[Spain]] (1936-1937), aiding the Republicans in the [[Spanish Civil War]] and to [[China]] (1938-1939), aiding the Chinese in [[Second Sino-Japanese War|their war with Japan]], in both cases performing [[battlefield medicine|battlefield surgical operations]] on war casualties.
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Bethune was admitted to the Trudeau Sanatorium at Saranac Lake, New York. There, he read about a new and controversial treatment for tuberculosis, compression therapy, or artificial pneumothorax, in which air was inserted into the chest in order to collapse one lung, either permanently or temporarily. Only thirteen doctors in the world were experienced in this technique; one of them, Dr. Archibald, was practicing in [[Montreal]]. Bethune insisted on receiving compression therapy at Trudeau. His left lung was compressed, he recovered his health, and went to Montreal to study thoracic surgery under Dr. Archibald.  
  
Bethune's work in Spain in developing mobile medical units was the model for the later development of [[Mobile Army Surgical Hospital]] (MASH) units. The need to provide [[blood transfusion]]s in a battlefield led him to develop the first practical method for transporting blood. In China, he worked with carpenters and blacksmiths to forge new surgical tools, and established training for doctors, nurses and orderlies. He redesigned packing containers to serve as operating tables.<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3912/is_199904/ai_n8846092] Alexander, C A, New York-tidewater chapters' history of military medicine award: The military odyssey of Norman Bethune, Military Medicine, Apr 1999</ref> He treated wounded Japanese prisoners.<ref>[http://www.bethuneinstitute.org/bethunedocs/wounds.html Wounds, 1939]</ref>
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From 1928 to 1936, Bethune devoted himself to other tuberculosis victims and to thoracic surgery in Montréal at the Royal Victoria Hospital, and later at the Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur, Cartierville, Québec. Although he successfully cured hundreds of cases of tuberculosis, many of his patients became ill again when they returned to crowded, unsanitary living conditions. Bethune thought the medical system should provide the same level of care for everyone, and collaborated with other health care advocates in developing a plan for socialized medicine. When they presented their plan to the government, it provoked a strong negative reaction, and Bethune became unpopular in medical circles because of his radical ideas.
 +
 
 +
Between 1929 and 1936, Bethune invented or redesigned twelve medical and surgical instruments, and wrote fourteen articles describing his innovations in thoracic surgical technique. He became increasingly disillusioned with surgical treatment and concerned with the socioeconomic aspects of disease. After a visit to the [[Soviet Union]] in 1935, Bethune joined the Communist Party.<ref> http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000715</ref>When the [[Spanish Civil War]] began in 1936, a spokesman from the Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy visited Bethune and asked him to head the Canadian Medical Unit in Madrid. At that time, Bethune was one of the most highly-paid doctors in Canada, and one of the world’s top thoracic surgeons. However, he agreed  to go to Madrid, and left Canada on November 3, 1936. In [[Spain]], he organized a mobile blood transfusion service, the first of its kind, to serve a one-thousand kilometer battle front. The mobile unit contained dressings for five hundred wounds and supplies for one hundred surgical operations, and could be carried by a single mule. The service collected blood donations and delivered them to the hospitals and to the wounded on the battlefield. On many occasions, Bethune risked his life to deliver blood to the front line. <ref> http://webspace.oanet.com/jaywhy/bethune.htm</ref> Bethune's work in Spain in developing mobile medical units was the model for the later development of [[Mobile Army Surgical Hospital]] (MASH) units. The need to provide [[blood transfusion]]s in a battlefield led him to develop the first practical method for transporting blood.
 +
 
 +
Bethune returned to Canada on June 6, 1937, to raise money for the antifascist cause in Spain, and soon turned his attention to the war being waged by communist forces against the Japanese invaders in China. "Spain and China," he wrote, "are part of the same battle."<ref> Ibid.</ref>
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 +
In 1938, Bethune went to [[China]] to aid the Chinese [[Red Army]] in [[Second Sino-Japanese War|their war with Japan]], performing [[battlefield medicine|battlefield surgical operations]] on war casualties. He became the Chief Medical Officer of the Red Army and trained thousands of Chinese as medics and doctors. In China, he worked with carpenters and blacksmiths to forge new surgical tools, and established training for doctors, nurses and orderlies. He redesigned packing containers to serve as operating tables.<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3912/is_199904/ai_n8846092] Alexander, C A, New York-tidewater chapters' history of military medicine award: The military odyssey of Norman Bethune, Military Medicine, Apr 1999</ref> He also treated wounded Japanese prisoners.<ref>[http://www.bethuneinstitute.org/bethunedocs/wounds.html Wounds, 1939]</ref>
  
 
Bethune died on November 12, 1939, of [[blood poisoning]] from a cut he received when performing surgery, while with the [[Communist Party of China]]'s [[Eighth Route Army]] in the midst of the [[second Sino-Japanese War]].
 
Bethune died on November 12, 1939, of [[blood poisoning]] from a cut he received when performing surgery, while with the [[Communist Party of China]]'s [[Eighth Route Army]] in the midst of the [[second Sino-Japanese War]].
  
==Motivations==
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==Motivation==
 
[[Image:Norman Bethune transfusion unit 1936.jpg|thumb|250px|Canadian Blood Transfusion Unit which operated during the Spanish Civil War. Dr. Norman Bethune is at the right. ca. 1935 - 1937 / Spain]]
 
[[Image:Norman Bethune transfusion unit 1936.jpg|thumb|250px|Canadian Blood Transfusion Unit which operated during the Spanish Civil War. Dr. Norman Bethune is at the right. ca. 1935 - 1937 / Spain]]
The [[Communist Party of Canada]] (CPC) asserts that Bethune, who joined the party in 1935, acted out of devotion to the Chinese [[socialist]] movement. Some in the [[Western world|West]], however, have been highly skeptical to the notion and generally believe the doctor's motivation was exclusively based on humanitarian considerations. The fact remains that Bethune went to Spain soon after joining the Communist Party of Canada to help in the struggle against [[fascism]], and then went to China to help the Communists there against Japanese [[imperialism]]. It is also noted in his most recent biography, ''The Politics of Passion'', by Larry Hannant, that he specifically refused to work under [[Chiang Kai Shek]]'s Nationalist government and insisted on helping the Chinese Communists instead. He is one of the few Westerners to have a statue in Communist China, and also has a hospital and a medical school named in his honour.
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The [[Communist Party of Canada]] (CPC) asserts that Bethune, who joined the party in 1935, acted out of devotion to the Chinese [[socialist]] movement. Some in the [[Western world|West]], however, have been highly skeptical of this notion and generally believe the doctor's motivation was exclusively based on humanitarian considerations. The fact remains that Bethune went to Spain soon after joining the Communist Party of Canada to help in the struggle against [[fascism]], and then went to China to help the Communists there against Japanese [[imperialism]]. It is also noted in his most recent biography, ''The Politics of Passion'', by Larry Hannant, that he specifically refused to work under [[Chiang Kai Shek]]'s Nationalist government and insisted on helping the Chinese Communists instead. He is one of the few Westerners to have a statue in his memory in Communist China, and also has a hospital and a medical school named in his honor.
  
 
==Memory==
 
==Memory==
Virtually unknown in his homeland during his lifetime, Doctor Bethune finally received international recognition when Chairman [[Mao Zedong]] of the [[People's Republic of China]] published his essay entitled ''In Memory of Norman Bethune'' (in Chinese: 紀念白求恩), which documented the final months of the doctor's life in China. Mao made the essay required reading for the entire Chinese population. Mao concluded in that essay: ''We must all learn the spirit of absolute selflessness from him. With this spirit everyone can be very helpful to each other. A man's ability may be great or small, but if he has this spirit, he is already noble-minded and pure, a man of moral integrity and above vulgar interests, a man who is of value to the people.''
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Virtually unknown in his homeland during his lifetime, Doctor Bethune received international recognition when Chairman [[Mao Zedong]] of the [[People's Republic of China]] published his essay entitled ''In Memory of Norman Bethune'' (in Chinese: 紀念白求恩), which documented the final months of the doctor's life in China. Mao made the essay required reading for the entire Chinese population. Mao concluded in that essay: ''We must all learn the spirit of absolute selflessness from him. With this spirit everyone can be very helpful to each other. A man's ability may be great or small, but if he has this spirit, he is already noble-minded and pure, a man of moral integrity and above vulgar interests, a man who is of value to the people.''
  
 
[[Image:Norman bethune.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Statue of Bethune in Montreal]]
 
[[Image:Norman bethune.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Statue of Bethune in Montreal]]
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[[Image:BethuneMemorialhouse.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Memorial House in Gravenhust]]
 
[[Image:BethuneMemorialhouse.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Memorial House in Gravenhust]]
The Canadian government purchased his father's and his neighbour's house in Gravenhurst and restored the houses into the [[Bethune Memorial House]] in 1976. The house is a [[National Historic Site of Canada]]. In August 2002, then [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] [[Adrienne Clarkson]], who has Chinese ancestry, visited the house and unveiled a bronze statue of him.
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The Canadian government purchased his father's and his neighbor's house in Gravenhurst and restored the houses into the [[Bethune Memorial House]] in 1976. The house is a [[National Historic Site of Canada]]. In August, 2002, then [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] [[Adrienne Clarkson]], who has Chinese ancestry, visited the house and unveiled a bronze statue of him.
 
 
Montreal created a public square and erected a statue in his honour, near [[Guy-Concordia (Montreal Metro)|Guy-Concordia metro station]].
 
 
 
Bethune improved upon a number of surgical instruments. His most famous instrument was the  "Bethune Rib Shears"[http://www.mta.ca/faculty/arts/canadian_studies/english/about/study_guide/doctors/mobile_blood.html].
 
 
 
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:1964_Chinese_Movie_Bethune.jpg|thumb|right|200px|1964 Chinese Movie: ''Dr. Bethune'']] —>
 
''Dr. Bethune'' ({{zh-ts|t=白求恩大夫|s=白求恩大夫}}), One of the most successful Chinese movies was made in 1964 in memory of him, in which Gerald Tannebaum ({{zh-tsp|t=譚寧邦|s=谭宁邦|p=Tán Níngbāng}}), an American humanitarian, played Bethune.
 
 
 
[[Donald Sutherland]] played Bethune in two [[biography|biographical]] films: ''Bethune'' (1977), made for television on a low budget, and ''Bethune: The Making of a Hero'' (1990). The latter was a co-production of [[Telefilm Canada]], the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]], FR3 TV France and China Film Co-production.
 
  
In March 1990, to commemorate the centenary of his birth, Canada and China each issued two postage stamps of the same design in his honour.
+
Montreal created a public square and erected a statue in his honor, near [[Guy-Concordia (Montreal Metro)|Guy-Concordia metro station]].
  
In 1998, he was inducted into the [[Canadian Medical Hall of Fame]].
+
Bethune improved upon a number of surgical instruments. His most famous instrument was the "Bethune Rib Shears" [http://www.mta.ca/faculty/arts/canadian_studies/english/about/study_guide/doctors/mobile_blood.html].
  
In the CBC's ''[[The Greatest Canadian]]'' program in 2004, he was voted the 26th Greatest Canadian by viewers. In 2006 [[China Central Television]] produced a 20-part drama series, ''Dr Norman Bethune'', documenting his life, which with a budget of [[Renminbi|Yuan]] 30 million (US$3.75 million) was the most expensive Chinese TV series to date. <ref>{{cite web|author=Xinhua|title=Sixty-seven years on, Canadian idealist moves China again||publisher=People's Daily Online|accessdate=September 1 |accessyear=2006|url=http://english.people.com.cn/200608/31/eng20060831_298507.html}}</ref>
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''Dr. Bethune'' ({{zh-ts|t=白求恩大夫|s=白求恩大夫}}), one of the most successful Chinese movies, was made in his memory in 1964 with Gerald Tannebaum ({{zh-tsp|t=譚寧邦|s=谭宁邦|p=Tán Níngbāng}}), an American humanitarian, playing Bethune. His life has also been the subject of two biographical films in which [[Donald Sutherland]] played Bethune: ''Bethune'' (1977), made for television on a low budget, and ''Bethune: The Making of a Hero'' (1990), a co-production of [[Telefilm Canada]], the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]], FR3 TV France and China Film Co-production.
  
He attended Owen Sound Collegiate in [[Owen Sound, Ontario]], now known as [[OSCVI|Owen Sound Collegiate And Vocational Institute]]. He graduated from OSCVI in 1911 along with [[Billy Bishop|William Avery "Billy" Bishop]]. Both names are inscribed on the School's Great War Memorial.
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In March 1990, to commemorate the centenary of Bethune’s birth, Canada and China each issued two postage stamps of the same design in his honor. In 1998, he was inducted into the [[Canadian Medical Hall of Fame]].
  
He is buried in [[Shijiazhuang]], [[Hebei]] Province, [[China]], where his tomb along with that of Dr. [[Dwarkanath Kotnis]] lie next to great memorials and statues to their honour.  
+
In the CBC's ''[[The Greatest Canadian]]'' program in 2004, he was voted the 26th Greatest Canadian by viewers. In 2006, [[China Central Television]] produced a 20-part drama series, ''Dr Norman Bethune'', documenting his life, which with a budget of [[Renminbi|Yuan]] 30 million (US$3.75 million) was the most expensive Chinese TV series to date. <ref>{{cite web|author=Xinhua|title=Sixty-seven years on, Canadian idealist moves China again||publisher=People's Daily Online|accessdate=September 1 |accessyear=2006|url=http://english.people.com.cn/200608/31/eng20060831_298507.html}}</ref>
  
The 2006 novel ''The Communist's Daughter'', by [[Dennis Bock]], is a fictionalized account of Bethune's life.
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Bethune attended Owen Sound Collegiate in [[Owen Sound, Ontario]], now known as [[OSCVI|Owen Sound Collegiate And Vocational Institute]].  He graduated from OSCVI in 1911 along with [[Billy Bishop|William Avery "Billy" Bishop]]. Both names are inscribed on the School's Great War Memorial.
  
The book of short stories, "Cottage Gothic," by  [[Martin Avery]], contains fictionalized accounts of Bethune's life, particularly in the story "Chinese Gold," which also appeared in Best Canadian Stories. Both books were published by Oberon Press.
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He is buried in [[Shijiazhuang]], [[Hebei]] Province, [[China]], where his tomb along with that of Dr. [[Dwarkanath Kotnis]] lie next to great memorials and statues in their honor.  
 
 
Norman Bethune on "youtube": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA2P59cSXAA
 
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
{{Commons|Norman Bethune}}
 
 
*[[James Gareth Endicott]]
 
*[[James Gareth Endicott]]
 
*[[Dwarkanath Kotnis]]
 
*[[Dwarkanath Kotnis]]
 
*[[Jakob Rosenfeld]]
 
*[[Jakob Rosenfeld]]
  
==References==
+
==Notes==
 
<div class="references-small">
 
<div class="references-small">
 
<references />
 
<references />
 
</div>
 
</div>
 +
==References==
 +
*Allan, Ted, and Sydney Grant Gordon. 1952. T''he scalpel, the sword; the story of Dr. Norman Bethune''. Boston: Little, Brown.
 +
*Bethune, Norman, and Larry Hannant. 1998. ''The politics of passion Norman Bethune's writing and art''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN:0802009077 9780802009074
 +
*Nuland, Sherwin B. 1992. ''Medicine the art of healing''. New York: H.L. Levin Assoicates : Distributed by Macmillan Pub. Co. ISBN:0883632926 9780883632925
 +
*Stewart, Roderick. 1973. ''Bethune.'' Toronto: New Press. ISBN:0088701914
 +
*Stewart, Roderick. 1977. ''The mind of Norman Bethune.'' Toronto: Fitzhenry & Whiteside. ISBN:0889024189 9780889024182 0889024251 9780889024250
 +
*Wilson, John. 1999. ''Norman Bethune a life of passionate conviction''. Quest library, 1. Montréal, Quebec: XYZ Pub. ISBN:0968360114 9780968360118
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
Line 77: Line 83:
 
* [http://www.bethuneinstitute.com/bethune.html Bethune page] at Bethune Institute, with links to Bethune's writings.  
 
* [http://www.bethuneinstitute.com/bethune.html Bethune page] at Bethune Institute, with links to Bethune's writings.  
  
* [http://www.bethuneinstitute.org/bethunedocs/wounds.html Wounds: if people could see the carnage of war they'd no doubt take the time to figure our who stands to benefit] Norman Bethune, 1939. "The kerosene lamp overhead makes a steady buzzing sound like an incandescent hive of bees. Mud walls. Mud floor. Mud bed. White paper windows. Smell of blood and chloroform. Cold. Three o'clock in the morning, December 1, North China, near Lin Chu, with the 8th Route Army...."  
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* [http://www.bethuneinstitute.org/bethunedocs/wounds.html Wounds: if people could see the carnage of war they'd no doubt take the time to figure out who stands to benefit] Norman Bethune, 1939. "The kerosene lamp overhead makes a steady buzzing sound like an incandescent hive of bees. Mud walls. Mud floor. Mud bed. White paper windows. Smell of blood and chloroform. Cold. Three o'clock in the morning, December 1, North China, near Lin Chu, with the 8th Route Army...."  
 
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-74-1345/people/bethune/ CBC Digital Archives - 'Comrade' Bethune: A Controversial Hero]
 
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-74-1345/people/bethune/ CBC Digital Archives - 'Comrade' Bethune: A Controversial Hero]
  
* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=14577711&query_hl=6&itool=pubmed_docsum International surgery: definition, principles and Canadian Practice]
+
* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=14577711&query_hl=6&itool=pubmed_docsum International surgery: definition, principles and Canadian Practice]
  
 
* R Patterson, Norman Bethune: his contributions to medicine and to CMAJ. CMAJ. 1989 November 1; 141(9): 947–953. [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1451431  [full text]]
 
* R Patterson, Norman Bethune: his contributions to medicine and to CMAJ. CMAJ. 1989 November 1; 141(9): 947–953. [http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1451431  [full text]]
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[[Category:Second Sino-Japanese War|Bethune, Norman]]
 
[[Category:Second Sino-Japanese War|Bethune, Norman]]
 
[[Category:Canadians of American descent|Bethune, Norman]]
 
[[Category:Canadians of American descent|Bethune, Norman]]
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{{Credits|Norman_Bethune|164098680}}
 
{{Credits|Norman_Bethune|164098680}}

Revision as of 01:39, 22 November 2007

Dr. Norman Bethune 1922

Dr. Henry Norman Bethune, MD (March 3, 1890 – November 12, 1939) was a Canadian physician, medical innovator, and humanitarian. His own experiences of being wounded by shrapnel in World War I, and recovering from pulmonary tuberculosis as a young man, gave him a deep sense of compassion for the sick and unfortunate. In Canada, he observed that his poorest patients often became sick again because of their unhealthy living conditions, and campaigned for socialized medicine. He became an outstanding thoracic surgeon. Between 1929 and 1936, Bethune invented or redesigned twelve medical and surgical instruments, and wrote fourteen articles describing his innovations in thoracic surgical technique. He became increasingly disillusioned with surgical treatment and concerned with the socioeconomic aspects of disease. After a visit to the Soviet Union in 1935, Bethune joined the Communist Party.

In 1936, he went to Madrid to lead the Canadian Medical Unit during the Spanish Civil War. Bethune's work in Spain in developing mobile medical units was the model for the later development of Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) units. The need to provide blood transfusions in a battlefield led him to develop the first practical method for transporting blood. In 1938, Bethune went to China to aid the Chinese Red Army in their war with Japan, performing battlefield surgical operations on war casualties. He worked with carpenters and blacksmiths to forge new surgical tools, and established training for doctors, nurses and orderlies. Bethune died in China in 1939 of blood poisoning. A number of schools have been named for him, and monuments in both China and Canada commemorate his selfless service to humanity. In Chinese, he is known as "Bai Qiuen" (白求恩).

Biography

The son of Christian missionaries, Dr. Bethune was born March 3, 1980, in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada. His grandfather, Norman Bethune, Sr., was also a noted Canadian physician and founder of one of the first medical schools in Toronto.

After completing his medical studies at the University of Toronto, in the midst of which he worked for a year as a laborer-teacher with Frontier College, Bethune moved to Montreal where he was associated with McGill University and taught thoracic surgery. Bethune was an early proponent of universal health care, the success of which he observed during a visit to the Soviet Union. As a doctor in Montreal, Bethune frequently sought out the poor and gave them free medical care.

In 1915, he joined the the No.2 Field Ambulance Medical Corps in France, where, as a stretcher-bearer in Ypres , he was hit by shrapnel and spent three months recovering in an English hospital. Afterwards, Bethune continued his studies at the University of Toronto, and re-enlisted as a surgeon in the British navy, spending the last six months of the war as a medical officer with Canadian airmen in France.

In 1916, he received his M.D. and completed postgraduate training in Britain. He entered private practice in Detroit, Michigan, but in 1926 he became ill and was found to have contracted pulmonary tuberculosis. He left Detroit and went to Calydor Sanitorium in Gravenhurst, Ontario. His wife, Frances, was determined to stay by his side, but Bethune believed his death was inevitable and demanded a divorce because he did not want to waster her time. She returned to her home in Scotland, but they continued to correspond frequently and remained close.

Bethune was admitted to the Trudeau Sanatorium at Saranac Lake, New York. There, he read about a new and controversial treatment for tuberculosis, compression therapy, or artificial pneumothorax, in which air was inserted into the chest in order to collapse one lung, either permanently or temporarily. Only thirteen doctors in the world were experienced in this technique; one of them, Dr. Archibald, was practicing in Montreal. Bethune insisted on receiving compression therapy at Trudeau. His left lung was compressed, he recovered his health, and went to Montreal to study thoracic surgery under Dr. Archibald.

From 1928 to 1936, Bethune devoted himself to other tuberculosis victims and to thoracic surgery in Montréal at the Royal Victoria Hospital, and later at the Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur, Cartierville, Québec. Although he successfully cured hundreds of cases of tuberculosis, many of his patients became ill again when they returned to crowded, unsanitary living conditions. Bethune thought the medical system should provide the same level of care for everyone, and collaborated with other health care advocates in developing a plan for socialized medicine. When they presented their plan to the government, it provoked a strong negative reaction, and Bethune became unpopular in medical circles because of his radical ideas.

Between 1929 and 1936, Bethune invented or redesigned twelve medical and surgical instruments, and wrote fourteen articles describing his innovations in thoracic surgical technique. He became increasingly disillusioned with surgical treatment and concerned with the socioeconomic aspects of disease. After a visit to the Soviet Union in 1935, Bethune joined the Communist Party.[1]When the Spanish Civil War began in 1936, a spokesman from the Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy visited Bethune and asked him to head the Canadian Medical Unit in Madrid. At that time, Bethune was one of the most highly-paid doctors in Canada, and one of the world’s top thoracic surgeons. However, he agreed to go to Madrid, and left Canada on November 3, 1936. In Spain, he organized a mobile blood transfusion service, the first of its kind, to serve a one-thousand kilometer battle front. The mobile unit contained dressings for five hundred wounds and supplies for one hundred surgical operations, and could be carried by a single mule. The service collected blood donations and delivered them to the hospitals and to the wounded on the battlefield. On many occasions, Bethune risked his life to deliver blood to the front line. [2] Bethune's work in Spain in developing mobile medical units was the model for the later development of Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) units. The need to provide blood transfusions in a battlefield led him to develop the first practical method for transporting blood.

Bethune returned to Canada on June 6, 1937, to raise money for the antifascist cause in Spain, and soon turned his attention to the war being waged by communist forces against the Japanese invaders in China. "Spain and China," he wrote, "are part of the same battle."[3]

In 1938, Bethune went to China to aid the Chinese Red Army in their war with Japan, performing battlefield surgical operations on war casualties. He became the Chief Medical Officer of the Red Army and trained thousands of Chinese as medics and doctors. In China, he worked with carpenters and blacksmiths to forge new surgical tools, and established training for doctors, nurses and orderlies. He redesigned packing containers to serve as operating tables.[4] He also treated wounded Japanese prisoners.[5]

Bethune died on November 12, 1939, of blood poisoning from a cut he received when performing surgery, while with the Communist Party of China's Eighth Route Army in the midst of the second Sino-Japanese War.

Motivation

Canadian Blood Transfusion Unit which operated during the Spanish Civil War. Dr. Norman Bethune is at the right. ca. 1935 - 1937 / Spain

The Communist Party of Canada (CPC) asserts that Bethune, who joined the party in 1935, acted out of devotion to the Chinese socialist movement. Some in the West, however, have been highly skeptical of this notion and generally believe the doctor's motivation was exclusively based on humanitarian considerations. The fact remains that Bethune went to Spain soon after joining the Communist Party of Canada to help in the struggle against fascism, and then went to China to help the Communists there against Japanese imperialism. It is also noted in his most recent biography, The Politics of Passion, by Larry Hannant, that he specifically refused to work under Chiang Kai Shek's Nationalist government and insisted on helping the Chinese Communists instead. He is one of the few Westerners to have a statue in his memory in Communist China, and also has a hospital and a medical school named in his honor.

Memory

Virtually unknown in his homeland during his lifetime, Doctor Bethune received international recognition when Chairman Mao Zedong of the People's Republic of China published his essay entitled In Memory of Norman Bethune (in Chinese: 紀念白求恩), which documented the final months of the doctor's life in China. Mao made the essay required reading for the entire Chinese population. Mao concluded in that essay: We must all learn the spirit of absolute selflessness from him. With this spirit everyone can be very helpful to each other. A man's ability may be great or small, but if he has this spirit, he is already noble-minded and pure, a man of moral integrity and above vulgar interests, a man who is of value to the people.

Statue of Bethune in Montreal

Bethune University of Medical Sciences in Changchun, Bethune College at York University, and Dr Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute (a secondary school) in Scarborough, Ontario, were named after Dr. Bethune. Heroic statues of Bethune have been erected throughout China.

Memorial House in Gravenhust

The Canadian government purchased his father's and his neighbor's house in Gravenhurst and restored the houses into the Bethune Memorial House in 1976. The house is a National Historic Site of Canada. In August, 2002, then Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, who has Chinese ancestry, visited the house and unveiled a bronze statue of him.

Montreal created a public square and erected a statue in his honor, near Guy-Concordia metro station.

Bethune improved upon a number of surgical instruments. His most famous instrument was the "Bethune Rib Shears" [2].

Dr. Bethune (Chinese: 白求恩大夫), one of the most successful Chinese movies, was made in his memory in 1964 with Gerald Tannebaum (Traditional Chinese: 譚寧邦; Simplified Chinese: 谭宁邦; pinyin: Tán Níngbāng), an American humanitarian, playing Bethune. His life has also been the subject of two biographical films in which Donald Sutherland played Bethune: Bethune (1977), made for television on a low budget, and Bethune: The Making of a Hero (1990), a co-production of Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, FR3 TV France and China Film Co-production.

In March 1990, to commemorate the centenary of Bethune’s birth, Canada and China each issued two postage stamps of the same design in his honor. In 1998, he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.

In the CBC's The Greatest Canadian program in 2004, he was voted the 26th Greatest Canadian by viewers. In 2006, China Central Television produced a 20-part drama series, Dr Norman Bethune, documenting his life, which with a budget of Yuan 30 million (US$3.75 million) was the most expensive Chinese TV series to date. [6]

Bethune attended Owen Sound Collegiate in Owen Sound, Ontario, now known as Owen Sound Collegiate And Vocational Institute. He graduated from OSCVI in 1911 along with William Avery "Billy" Bishop. Both names are inscribed on the School's Great War Memorial.

He is buried in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China, where his tomb along with that of Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis lie next to great memorials and statues in their honor.

See also

  • James Gareth Endicott
  • Dwarkanath Kotnis
  • Jakob Rosenfeld

Notes

  1. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000715
  2. http://webspace.oanet.com/jaywhy/bethune.htm
  3. Ibid.
  4. [1] Alexander, C A, New York-tidewater chapters' history of military medicine award: The military odyssey of Norman Bethune, Military Medicine, Apr 1999
  5. Wounds, 1939
  6. Xinhua. Sixty-seven years on, Canadian idealist moves China again. People's Daily Online. Retrieved September 1, 2006.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Allan, Ted, and Sydney Grant Gordon. 1952. The scalpel, the sword; the story of Dr. Norman Bethune. Boston: Little, Brown.
  • Bethune, Norman, and Larry Hannant. 1998. The politics of passion Norman Bethune's writing and art. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN:0802009077 9780802009074
  • Nuland, Sherwin B. 1992. Medicine the art of healing. New York: H.L. Levin Assoicates : Distributed by Macmillan Pub. Co. ISBN:0883632926 9780883632925
  • Stewart, Roderick. 1973. Bethune. Toronto: New Press. ISBN:0088701914
  • Stewart, Roderick. 1977. The mind of Norman Bethune. Toronto: Fitzhenry & Whiteside. ISBN:0889024189 9780889024182 0889024251 9780889024250
  • Wilson, John. 1999. Norman Bethune a life of passionate conviction. Quest library, 1. Montréal, Quebec: XYZ Pub. ISBN:0968360114 9780968360118

External links

  • Bethune page at Bethune Institute, with links to Bethune's writings.
  • R Patterson, Norman Bethune: his contributions to medicine and to CMAJ. CMAJ. 1989 November 1; 141(9): 947–953. [full text]


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