{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/222r49j55s/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Dr. T. Euguene Zachary"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/246/original/CenterForHistoryFamilyMedicine_2c_RGB.png?1773344256","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis item is protected by U.S. copyright and related rights. It is being made available by the Center for the History of Family Medicine as its rights-holder for noncommercial use, including sharing and adapting the work. No permission is required for noncommercial use so long as attribution is provided. All other uses require permission from the Center for the History of Family Medicine.  Disclaimer:  The views presented in this broadcast are the speaker’s own and do not represent those of CHFM or the AAFP Foundation. The information presented is for general, educational, or entertainment purposes and should not be considered legal, health, financial, or other advice. \u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2009-11-04 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Oral History"]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["Audio file"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians Archival and Historical Committee"]}},{"label":{"en":["Keyword"]},"value":{"en":["American Academy of Family Physicians","Family Medicine","Family Physician"]}},{"label":{"en":["Subject"]},"value":{"en":["T. Eugene Zachary, DO (personal name)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English (primary)"]}}],"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis item is protected by U.S. copyright and related rights. It is being made available by the Center for the History of Family Medicine as its rights-holder for noncommercial use, including sharing and adapting the work. No permission is required for noncommercial use so long as attribution is provided. All other uses require permission from the Center for the History of Family Medicine. \u0026nbsp;Disclaimer: \u0026nbsp;The views presented in this broadcast are the speaker\u0026rsquo;s own and do not represent those of CHFM or the AAFP Foundation. The information presented is for general, educational, or entertainment purposes and should not be considered legal, health, financial, or other advice.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Center for the History of Family Medicine"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Center for the History of Family Medicine"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/246/original/CenterForHistoryFamilyMedicine_2c_RGB.png?1773344256","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collections/default_thumbs/000/003/490/small/99a7dba6bcf58e616716a67ff93a.png?1760558877","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3490/collection_resources/162027/file/294257","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - 1006.MP3"]},"duration":2925.312,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collections/default_thumbs/000/003/490/small/99a7dba6bcf58e616716a67ff93a.png?1760558877","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3490/collection_resources/162027/file/294257/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3490/collection_resources/162027/file/294257/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/294/257/original/1006.MP3?1759945470","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":2925.312,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3490/collection_resources/162027/file/294257","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3490/collection_resources/162027/file/294257/transcript/85179","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Dr. T. E. Zachary interview transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3490/collection_resources/162027/file/294257/transcript/85179/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Archival \u0026 Historical Committee November 4, 2009\n\nNew Orleans, Louisiana\n\nInterview with\n\nT. Eugene Zachary, DO, FACOFP ACOFP Congress of Delegates Speaker – 1981-2001\n\nCommittee Chair: Dr. Zachary, we’ll start off by asking you a little bit about your life and how you came into osteopathic medicine, and how you ended up in family medicine.\n\nDr. Zachary:Well, it’s an interesting story. When I was 10 years old, I had an uncle that graduated from the Kirksville College of Osteopathy and Surgery. That was in 1944, and he's the one person that's responsible for me being an osteopathic physician. His name was Charles Hawes and he became an orthopedic surgeon and practiced in Texas and Ohio and Michigan and two or three other places, but I owe everything I am to him. He was a tremendous person and my favorite uncle and I think I was his favorite nephew. I graduated from the Kansas City College of Osteopathy and Surgery in 1959 and I interned in Dallas, Texas, at the Dallas Osteopathic Hospital. I practiced in Richardson, Texas, with another gentlemen by the name of Frank Bradley, who also was at school with me and we interned together as well. We practiced together a couple years before he decided he wanted to be a radiologist. Then I became a solo practitioner, which was okay because I really enjoyed my practice taking care of people. I practiced in Richardson as a solo practitioner from 1960 to 1980. In 1980, I decided I wanted to give something back to the profession.\n\nThe Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine had been in full swing since 1970\n\nand I decided to make an application to go on the faculty and I was accepted. I then went to Fort Worth and became a faculty member in the Department of General and Family Practice. In 1984, I was selected to be the vice president for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. I served in that position for six years, went back on the faculty as a faculty member in 1990 and stayed on the faculty and worked in the department for another ten years before I retired in the year 2000. I got a little bit bored with being retired (didn't have enough to do). I decided to go back to work part- time at the college and in 2004, I went back part-time in the Department of Medical Education and since that time I've helped another individual in our profession by the name of John Bowling* develop a rural track for our students. We have a four-year program now called ROME, which stands for Rural Osteopathic Medical Education, and it's a track that's in addition to the regular curriculum of the medical school. We started out with 13 students in the first year and we had 11 students the second year, had 8 students the third year and this year we have 18 students in that particular program, and it's doing very well. We have used that program to encourage students to look at rural medicine closely and entice them to end up practicing in rural Texas.\n\nNow to get back to this organization, which when I joined it in 1960, it was called the American College of General Practitioners in Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery. That was s shortened to the letters ACGP. So in 1960, I joined the ACGP. In 1965, I don't remember what happened, but I forgot to pay my dues that year and so I was taken off of the role and then I realized I was not on the roles anymore. In 1967, I rejoined by paying my dues and so the official records of the organizations say I've been a member since 1967, but it really was 1960. That's the way life is sometimes. So basically officially I've been a\n\nmember of this organization for 42 years, but it should've been more like 44 years.\n\nCommittee Chair: How much were dues back then?\n\nDr. Zachary:I think they were $25, I believe, 25 to 40 dollars. This past September, which I guess now is almost two months ago, I celebrated my 50th year reunion at the Kansas City College, so I've been around awhile and I know some of these other gray-headed folks have been around a little longer than I have, but nevertheless I've been around awhile.\n\nCommittee Chair: And as a clarification, tell us about your early involvement with the ACGP.\n\nDr. Zachary:Well my involvement with this organization started back in 1967 officially when I became a delegate to the Congress of Delegates, and I was a delegate I guess for 14 years. In 1981, Dr. Robert Haman proposed that I become the vice Speaker of the Congress of Delegates. At that time, Charlie Sauter from the State of Maine was the Speaker and it was interesting because he was only elected Speaker for one day. That's the way organization worked back then.\n\nHe was Speaker for that one day and that was the end of it. Then next year, he had to be reelected again for that one day. Because I don't remember how many years he was Speaker, but that's the way it used to work. So in 1981, I was elected vice Speaker, first time they ever had one. They didn't know what to do with a vice Speaker. It was a new entity. They just didn't know what to do with it, so I stayed vice Speaker for one day. When the next year came along, I was still in the running for vice Speaker again, Charlie Sauter had died and so he wasn’t there to be Speaker anymore and so Bob Haman proposed that I become the Speaker for one day and he nominated me. The Congress voted affirmatively and elected me Speaker for one day.\n\nCommittee Member: Gene, may I interrupt? What was the purpose of that one day?\n\nDr. Zachary:Well, it was just to preside over the Congress of Delegates, that was all. No other duties whatsoever. I think they paid him maybe $100. Anyway, whatever it was, he contributed right back into the treasury of the organization, which is what I did also.\n\nCommittee Chair: Had you been a Speaker in another venue prior to that day?\n\nDr. Zachary:Yes, as a matter of fact I had. At that point in time, I was currently the Speaker of House of Delegates of the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association, my home state, and had been so for about three or four years at that point in time. I think I became the TOMA Speaker in 1976. So it was from that point forward. Then I was elected the ACGP Speaker for one day. When the next year rolled around, I tried to convince some people that this organization was worthy of having that office filled for an entire year; that there were things that could be done, things that, organization-wise, needed to be done. We were a growing organization and we needed to represent that growth appropriately.\n\nSo it was Ray Saloom and Gerry Roderick and Bob Haman, John Burnett, and some others that were working in the organization, I think most of them probably were on the board at that time, and they got together with me and we worked out a situation so that the Office of Speaker would be created as a full year's term, very much like the President and the President-elect and so on. So it just kind of took off like a racehorse and things developed. It wasn't very long until it was decided that the Speaker needed to have a nonvoting position on the Board of the Governors so he could sit in and be the right-hand support for the president when he was presiding over the Board. Royce Keilers and some others decided that they should write into the bylaws that the Speaker’s position would be a nonvoting member of the Board of Governors. Now I\n\ndon't remember the years all that took place, but it was - - we were still ACGP at that time.\n\nThe people that helped me the most, I've already mentioned their name, Bob Haman, John Burnett, Joe Namey, Frank McDevitt, and Howard Neer. These guys promoted me behind the scenes and out in front of the scenes as well, both ways, and I appreciate everything that they did for me because it was quite an honor, in my opinion, to be elected Speaker of such a prestigious organization. I enjoyed being Speaker of the Texas House and I enjoyed being Speaker of the Congress of Delegates very, very much. Two years later in 1982, I became the Speaker of the House of Delegates of the American Osteopathic Association. So at that point in time, I held all three offices together at the same time and I'm proud to say that I'm the only osteopathic physician that ever held all three offices at the same time. Unofficially a lot of people refer to me as Mr. Speaker, and I appreciate that very much because I consider it a tremendous honor to have held those offices.\n\nCommittee Chair: Can you tell us about your big gavel?\n\nDr. Zachary:Well, yes, I can. There was a man in Texas that was Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Texas Legislature by the name of Gib Lewis* and he presented me with this gavel, the diameter of which was about four inches and the handle was about 16 inches long and so it was a pretty monstrous hammer so to speak, and that's what I used to preside in all those organizations while I was still Speaker.\n\nCommittee Chair: It made a big bang didn't it? Dr. Zachary:Yes, it did.\n\nCommittee Chair: I imagine it did.\n\nDr. Zachary:It got a lot… The hammer got a lot of respect; it sure did.\n\nCommittee Chair: Before we move away, you mentioned all of these different people and we like to pick up points of view perspective on them. Would you give us a thumbnail sketch of some of these people, say Ray Saloom?\n\nDr. Zachary:Well Ray Saloom, I think was from Pennsylvania. He was a very colorful character. I didn't know him really, really well, but I enjoyed working with him the times that I had an opportunity to work with him. Unfortunately, he died rather young and we missed him a lot and so I think as a result we've named a particular lecture after him. Is that still in operation? Do we still have the Ray Saloom lecture?\n\nCommittee Member: I know in Pennsylvania it is.\n\nDr. Zachary:Good. Ray was a real neat guy. I used to sit and admire the way he operated as president of the Board of Governors. He really knew how to run that thing.\n\nBob Haman was a close friend of mine in Texas. Bob was a giant in our profession as was John Burnett. They both were in Texas in the Dallas area and they both promoted me very highly in my role as Speaker of the Texas House and also as the Speaker of the Congress of Delegates. And then further along, John Burnett… After Bob Haman died, John Burnett promoted me as Speaker of the AOA House of Delegates along with Joe Namey and Frank McDevitt.\n\nCommittee Chair: What was Bob Haman's defining character? Dr. Zachary:He was a rancher. He raised Angus cattle. Committee Chair: Was he also a strong organizer?\n\nDr. Zachary:Oh yeah, fantastic organizer. Of course, he served as President of the Texas Association once upon a time as did John Burnett. He was very organized, very highly disciplined. He was a good family practitioner, very busy man, and he died relatively young as well.\n\nCommittee Chair:  Gerry Roderick?\n\nDr. Zachary:Oh, Gerry Roderick was a real character. Do you guys remember Gerry? You don't remember Gerry Roderick? Gerry was from Missouri, and he served as president of this organization once upon a time. He was in the State House of Representatives I believe. It was either that or it was the Senator of the Missouri Legislature, and I can't remember which, but he was a real colorful individual, and he was a good leader as well.\n\nCommittee Chair:  Howard Neer?\n\nCommittee Member: I'm going to step out. [Dr. Neer]\n\nCommittee Member: You don’t need to do that.\n\nCommittee Chair: Let the record reflect that Dr. Neer actually stepped out of the room.\n\nDr. Zachary:Howard Neer was a good friend of mine then; he still is a good friend of mine. He helped me a lot at the AOA level by giving me advice and supporting me in every respect possible. Howard's a good guy.\n\nCommittee Member: What state is he from? Dr. Zachary:He's from Florida.\n\nCommittee Chair: He was always from Florida? Dr. Zachary:As far as I know.\n\nCommittee Chair: You mentioned also Frank McDevitt.\n\nDr. Zachary:Frank was from Michigan. As everybody probably knows, Frank was - - I guess you might say Frank was the godfather of the profession. When he was alive, Frank did a lot to guide and direct the AOA. I won't pull any punches about Frank. Frank made and broke a lot of men in our profession politically. He along with a few others made the decision as to who would become the next president and president-elect of the AOA as time went on, every year up until even till the time he died, as all of us well know.\n\nCommittee Chair: What was his relationship with the ACGP/ACOFP as far as how he interacted?\n\nDr. Zachary:Dr. McDevitt was a member of the ACGP/ACOFP as all of us were. Then when the certifying board was formed, he went on that board. Joe Namey was the president of the certifying Board, and I can't remember all of the other members at that time. One was Frank Bonifacio from New Jersey. He was a good woodworker, which happens to be my hobby as well. There was another guy by the name of Joe Guzik, who was instrumental in the ACGP and the profession as well. I recall that Joe was responsible for making our medallion that all of the ACOFP Fellows wear around their neck (probably every one of you have one). I don't know whether you remember or not but Joe came up with that. He designed it and had it made, and I forget what year it was. It was a long time ago now. Years go by and you forget what dates.\n\nCommittee Chair: How about Joe Namey and John and Mary Burnett.\n\nDr. Zachary:Well Joe and John and Frank were the three Musketeers. They did everything together. They were always together when we had a convention. Whether it was a GP convention or AOA convention, they were together, and they politically were very strong. It was a shame when Joe died and it was a shame when John died and it was a greater shame when Frank died because that coalition of three people was very strong. They did a lot for the profession, a lot of good things for the profession while they were still alive.\n\nCommittee Chair:  Mary Burnett?\n\nDr. Zachary:Sweet lady. Mary originally was from Colorado I think. But when he husband died, she up and married John Burnett and came to Texas to live and practice and ultimately became I think the only female president of our college, if I'm not mistaken, and did a super job and served very well on the certifying board as well. She’s one of my dearest friends, lovely person.\n\nCommittee Chair: What were some of the toughest issues that you had to deal with because your tenure was even longer than most board members?\n\nDr. Zachary:As a matter of fact, I had the longest tenure of any of them. I was on that board unofficially as a nonvoting member for 20 years.\n\nCommittee Chair: When did you give up the gavel?\n\nDr. Zachary:   2002. I became Speaker in 1980 and 20 years later, I gave up the gavel. And, I will add, I gave it up reluctantly because I enjoyed doing it so much. It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it.\n\nCommittee Chair: Did you give it up or was it taken from you?\n\nDr. Zachary:It was taken from me unofficially. I wasn't fired, but two individuals told me I needed to step down; I was too old and too set in my ways and “old fashioned”, so I did.\n\nCommittee Member: You're speaking of the ACOFP Board right? Dr. Zachary:ACOFP. Yes, sir.\n\nCommittee Member: Because you were also the AOA Speaker longer than that didn't you?\n\nDr. Zachary:No. Well let me correct my dates a little bit. I believe 1980 is when I became Speaker of the Congress of Delegates and 2000 is when I retired. I became AOA Speaker in 1982.\n\nCommittee Chair: What about the toughest issues?\n\nDr. Zachary:  Okay. Some of the toughest issues I had to deal with were mainly dealing with hardheaded board members.\n\nCommittee Member: They won.\n\nDr. Zachary:  And that's a fact. Some of them were easy to get along with and some of them were hard to get along with, so that was one of the hard issues I had.\n\nScheduling issues, I constantly butted up against scheduling of Congress of Delegates in our convention because first they wanted it the first of the\n\nconvention, then they wanted it the last of the convention. Some of them even wanted to do away with the Congress. I said, \"No way.\" I fought tooth and nail to keep the Congress active and alive because it was our legislative body and we needed it to run the organization properly. So that was another issue.\n\nFinding and keeping good vice speakers during that 20 years was a real chore. I think I had four vice speakers that served under me in that 20 years, and they were all very good, but they just didn't last very long. I don't know whether I wore them out or what happened, but nevertheless that was another issue.\n\nGetting to be the Speaker and having a nonvoting seat on the Board of Governors was a real issue because back in those early days of ACGP, the general feeling of the board members was: We don't need you. You're not important. But I soon convinced them that the Speaker's job was important and the Speaker had a lot of parliamentary education to give to all the members of the board, and that was another hard issue that I had. That's about it.\n\nCommittee Chair: Who would you think of as the most colorful character that you dealt with? Dr. Zachary:Colorful, there are three or four, and I've mentioned them. Gerry Roderick probably heads the list. He was a real character. And Joe Namey, Joe was\n\nnicknamed the Kingmaker. I don't exactly know why, but I guess there was good reason for it. There's another individual that was a real supporter of mine was Terry Nickels from Oklahoma. There were several people I've already mentioned that I would've considered colorful. There was a guy by the name of Jim Rowland. He was on the board. I think he was an early president, the early days of ACGP. And there was another guy by the name of Jim Gazdag*, who was treasurer of the organization for a number of years before he died and he was another colorful character. Mike Avallone, super guy, but a\n\nreal character. Mike was from Pennsylvania and I think may have ultimately moved to Florida.\n\nCommittee Member: No, he did not.\n\nDr. Zachary:He did not, okay. I know Joe Namey moved to Florida to work at the college in Florida for a while before he died. But Mike Avallone had the nickname “King”. Mike had a nickname for everybody. He called me \"The Hammer\" strictly because of that big gavel I used, and I won't tell you what he called some other people.\n\nCommittee Member: Any insight into why Anita Tunanitis disappeared?\n\nCommittee Chair:  Anita Tunanitis.\n\nCommittee Member: The lady with the hat.\n\nDr. Zachary:Oh Amy. I can only speculate because I won't tell what she told me because she swore me not to tell and I won't tell, so I'm just going to tell you that Amy -\n\n- I don't think she was asked to step down, but I think she felt that people wanted her to step down and so she did. That's all I'm going to say.\n\nCommittee Member: Stepped down from what?\n\nCommittee Member: She was supposed to be going up to be president. Dr. Zachary:To go on the AOA board and be…well I won’t say. Committee Chair: She's still in the ACOFP.\n\nDr. Zachary:Amy is a sweet lady.\n\nCommittee Member: She is still in the ACOFP. She lives in Florida.\n\nCommittee Chair: Dr. Zachary we asked you to tell us a favorite story or a funny saga or a tale. Dr. Zachary:Well let's see. Bob Brethouwer and I, the year that our board meeting was in Bermuda, Bob Brethouwer and I rented these motor scooters and we rode all\n\nover the island with these motor scooters, just had a great time. But his scooter would go faster than mine would and he'd have to stop and wait till I caught up\n\nwith him, and that was a fun time. That was a really good time. We enjoyed going to Bermuda. That was a good meeting.\n\nCommittee Chair: There was a lot of international movement? Did the Board or did the ACGP take a lot of travel outside of the United States?\n\nDr. Zachary:Yes, we did. Bermuda is one. Budapest was another. Holland was another.\n\nLondon England was another. Geneva Switzerland was another. The Cayman Islands was another trip.\n\nCommittee Member: Paris?\n\nDr. Zachary:Yes, but I didn't get to go to Paris, so I very seldom think of that one. Committee Chair: What were those like? What was the purpose, who paid and what happened? Dr. Zachary:Well the Board of Governors had all the expenses paid by the organization.\n\nThe membership probably thought it was a big vacation, but it was working board trip. I mean we spent two or three days in meetings working through issues. George Nyhart was executive director for a number of years of the ACOFP and he made some good arrangements for us to travel and stay in some real nice places, but we had some good working meetings in all those different places we went to.\n\nCommittee Chair: Now didn't you find tremendous support from the pharmaceutical industry back then also?\n\nDr. Zachary:Oh, yes, we sure did. We had good support from the industry then, big conventions and a lot of exhibitors. That was good support, yes.\n\nCommittee Chair: Who was the executive director when you first came in? Dr. Zachary:When I first came in?\n\nCommittee Chair:  Yes.\n\nDr. Zachary:Jack Hank.\n\nCommittee Chair: Can you tell us about Jack?\n\nDr. Zachary:No.\n\nCommittee Chair: We've already heard a lot.\n\nDr. Zachary:Well you probably heard a lot more than I want to tell. Jack was. I don't know what Jack was, but he wasn't what he was supposed to be. That's for sure.\n\nCommittee Chair: Just the question of finances, when Jack… When we took the organization back from Jack, that must've been about the time you were getting involved.\n\nDr. Zachary:Yes.\n\nCommittee Chair: Can you tell us about that?\n\nDr. Zachary:We were broke. We were almost broke. We didn't have an office. We didn't have office furniture and very few records. We never did find some of the records of the old organization and we never knew what happened to them.\n\nSome of the guys can tell you stories about what - - even before I got involved where they had to chase all over Chicago to try to find some of those records in different places, but I don't know any of those details.\n\nCommittee Chair: Any other tales or sagas?\n\nDr. Zachary:No, not really. Good years. I enjoyed it.\n\nCommittee Member: Did you know Betty Vaught?\n\nDr. Zachary:Yes, very much so. Betty was the executive director before George Nyhart was.\n\nCommittee Member: Yes.\n\nDr. Zachary:Betty came along after Jack Hank and I think Betty did a good job in reorganizing the office of ACOFP. I think maybe it was ACGP when she first started. She had one little room as an office; I think maybe one or two desks, two/three filing cabinets and that was about it. But I think Betty did a good job of reorganizing the organization when it was about to fall apart.\n\nCommittee Chair: What about the name change going from ACGP to ACOFP? There are always tales of controversy.\n\nDr. Zachary:Well some people didn't want to change. There was a big movement to change it from GP to FP and it was based by I think primarily on the fact that the allopathic profession had a the AAFP organization and the members that wanted to change it felt like we were as good as or maybe better than they were and therefore we needed to change it to family practice also; so we changed it to the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians.\n\nCommittee Member: Was that partly a student movement?\n\nDr. Zachary:No, I don't think it was student-based. I think it was…\n\nCommittee Member: I think it was insurance-based. Aetna and Keystone were paying a lower amount to general practitioners versus family practitioners.\n\nDr. Zachary:You're right. You're absolutely right. That is a factor.\n\nCommittee Member: And that was in '93.\n\nDr. Zachary:That was one of the selling points that really won over the people that didn't want to change. Yeah, you're right, it was the insurance companies. And I don't remember what year it was.\n\nCommittee Member: '93.\n\nDr. Zachary:'93, okay.\n\nCommittee Chair: What are your predictions about the future of family medicine?\n\nDr. Zachary:It has no ending point. It's going to grow and grow and grow. The American people demand good health care and the best health care is given by osteopathic family physicians. It always has been and it always will be. I've been in a position to observe from a national standpoint how medicine has progressed over the years from the time AT Still started our profession. Now I wasn't here when AT Still started the profession...I’m not saying that! I have\n\nbeen able to observe the changes that took place, but through history and so forth. I do think the profession will thrive, continue to grow and there's nothing that can keep us down.\n\nCommittee Chair: What do you envision as the future of the ACOFP?\n\nDr. Zachary:Same thing. Unless something dramatic happens, some disaster happens, there's nothing that can keep the ACOFP from growing and thriving.\n\nCommittee Chair: What do we need to do better?\n\nDr. Zachary:Having been out of the main leadership of the organization now for about nine years, I don't know. I hope it's doing well. As best as I can tell, I think it's doing fine. I don't know how many Fellows are going to get a Fellow Award this coming March. Do any of you know?\n\nCommittee Member: There were 15 nominations this time.\n\nDr. Zachary:One of the things that started my downfall was that I thought the Fellow Award is given too many times. I think the Fellow Award should be a very coveted award for people that do a whole lot of really outstanding things for the profession and to give 15 or 20 or 25 of those every year, in my opinion, is wrong. That's one of the reasons I was asked to step down because I made those statements in board meetings, in social gatherings, and some of the board members didn't like that idea. They felt we ought to have hundreds of fellows, and I don't think so. I still don't think so. I think the Fellow designation should be difficult to obtain and highly coveted. That's just how I feel about it.\n\nCommittee Chair: You worked with students a lot through your life. Dr. Zachary:Yes.\n\nCommittee Chair: Do you have any advice for young people going into medicine now, young physicians graduating?\n\nDr. Zachary:Well if I were really truthful with you, I'd tell them not to go into medicine, but that's because of the climate of our country today with all the insurance and the PPOs, all those alphabet soup things. I would not want to be starting into the practice of medicine today. I think it's too difficult and I'm not talking about the practice taking care of sick people, I'm talking about the business and regulation side of the practice of medicine. Of course, I don't like it because I know how it used to be. It used to be a lot of fun and I tell the students, I hope they enjoy what they're going to get into because it's a lot of fun to take care of sick people and see them get better and get to know them as they get well and get to be close friends with them. My advice to students is to study hard, put God first in their life, family second in their life, and the profession third; and if they do that every single day, it will reward them very, very much. They won't have to worry about a single thing in the rest of their life. They'll have a good life; they'll have a good life and enjoy living.\n\nCommittee Member: I have a dual question. How do you think House Resolution 3200 [the government takeover of medicine attempted in 2009] is going to impact family practice? And the second thing is the electronic medical records, is that going to cause solo practitioners out of business?\n\nDr. Zachary:As to your second question, I don't think it will if it's used properly. Our school in Texas is beginning to use the electronic medical record and I think when it's used properly, it's a very good tool to help the practicing physician manage his work time, manage his work day. When I was in private practice, I had to write everything out longhand. I didn't even use the typewriter or anything like that or I didn't even dictate my progress notes or anything. So electronic medical records is a real good tool when it's used properly.\n\nCommittee Member: But the cost could be prohibitive.\n\nDr. Zachary:Yes, the cost is high, that's true. Now I don't know what our - - the President of United States is going to do about his health reform issues, but somebody needs to sit him down and tell him how the facts of life are. He don't know. He's got starlight and moonbeams in his eyes and he doesn't know what's going on. That’s the way I feel about it. Now I don't how many of you voted for him, that's fine if you voted for him, he's your President, and he's my President too, but he doesn’t have a clue about medicine.\n\nCommittee Member: Tell us what you really think...\n\nDr. Zachary:Now some of the things that happened when I was Speaker that I'm real proud of: One was getting the nonvoting seat on the board, another was when John Angeloni was president and Joe Namey had died and we all went to his funeral. John and I sat down in his car and we created the nominating committee, which I think is still in existence, made up of all past presidents. Is that right?\n\nCommittee Member: We had it yesterday.\n\nDr. Zachary:Yeah, he and I created that committee the way it stands, and it's worked very well.\n\nCommittee Chair: You said John Angeloni. Dr. Zachary:Yes, when he was president. Committee Member: He's from Pennsylvania.\n\nDr. Zachary:Yes, from Pennsylvania.\n\nCommittee Member: He asked me to head up the student chapter of the ACGP at PCOM because I was pounding on doors saying, \"There's no chapter here; something has to be done.\" And when he came in, he appointed me the first president.\n\nDr. Zachary:And you know, you mentioned the student chapter at all the schools, I hope that it's active at all schools. I know it is at our school in Texas and it's real active in the Virginia school because I'm currently on the board of directors of\n\nthe Virginia school and I helped Dixie start that school way back in 2001. I was dean for six years at the Texas school, so she asked me to come over and help her get started with the Virginia school, but the chapter is very active in both places. I'm sure it is at all of the schools.\n\nCommittee Member: PCOM is very active. Dr. Zachary:I 'm sure it is.\n\nCommittee Member: California got their state opened in the early part of your activity.\n\nDr. Zachary:Yes. Ethan and I and probably Howard too can remember that fiasco in about 1960\n\nCommittee Member: 1962.\n\nDr. Zachary:Was it 1962 when we lost the medical school out there in California?\n\nCommittee Member: Right.\n\nDr. Zachary:Everybody thought we were headed for the graveyard didn't they?\n\nCommittee Member: They sure did.\n\nDr. Zachary:But there were some of us that said, \"No, we're not, and we're going to stay and stick it out,\" and thank goodness we did.\n\nCommittee Member: Yeah.\n\nDr. Zachary:We're stronger for it. Committee Chair: Were you around in '62? Dr. Zachary:I was here.\n\nCommittee Chair: Tell me how… If you would please tell the committee how you felt when you first heard the news of that.\n\nDr. Zachary:Well I was devastated. I had only been in practice a couple years and of course having had an osteopathic physician as an uncle who started me out in the profession, I’m a died in the wool DO. I always have been “D.O.” and always\n\nwill be. And I said back then,” I don't care whether we lost a school out there or not, this profession is going to survive,\" and we did.\n\nCommittee Chair: How about nationally did you hear a lot of people that were highly fearful that we would lose the profession?\n\nDr. Zachary:Oh sure, a lot of people were terribly worried. They said, \"Oh, that's the end of the profession,\" and we had some people in Texas who went out there and got a degree… Was it $60?\n\nCommittee Member: $65.\n\nDr. Zachary:$65 for an MD degree! I was very disappointed in those people because they turned tail and they left the profession.\n\nCommittee Chair: What was the purpose? Were they living out there?\n\nDr. Zachary:No, they didn't. Most of the ones that I'm talking about lived in Texas.\n\nCommittee Chair: So they left Texas to go get that piece of paper, came back… Dr. Zachary:No, they stayed in California and practiced out there.\n\nCommittee Chair: They practiced in California?\n\nDr. Zachary:Yes, because the MD degree that they got in California wasn't recognized in Texas.\n\nCommittee Member: Right, no other state recognized the “little MD” which is what we called it. Dr. Zachary:Right, no other state, so they had to practice out there In California Committee Member: You could get it by mail?\n\nDr. Zachary:Yes.\n\nCommittee Member: $65 and paper.\n\nDr. Zachary:That's all you had to do was pay $65 and you had it.\n\nCommittee Member: But you had to have a license in California, so they must've been out there or maybe they graduated from the old school.\n\nDr. Zachary:Oh, I don't know about that, could be.\n\nCommittee Chair: So the logistics, just to clarify this for history, if you were a physician in some other state and you wanted to get your MD for a brief period there, you had the opportunity to go to California, become a physician in that state, be licensed in that state, and then convert your degree to an MD degree?\n\nCommittee Member: Yeah, you had to be licensed by the board, osteopathic board, because California had separate boards and so you had to be licensed by the board of osteopathic examiners. And once you had that degree, then you sent your money to the new school, which was California College of Medicine, CCM, and then you got the chance to buy the degree. Then you notified the Board of Osteopathic Examiners that you wanted to be transferred to the Board of Medical Examiners per jurisdiction.\n\nCommittee Chair: Wow! OK, Dr. Zachary, would you summarize what osteopathic medicine has meant to you and your life.\n\nDr. Zachary:Well, the profession has been very good to me. Not only has it provided me a livelihood that I could enjoy life, raise a family, and afford pretty much everything I wanted, but more than that the osteopathic profession has provided me an opportunity to serve the public and help people who needed help. I've enjoyed all the years I practiced medicine. I enjoyed it very much. I did not enjoy the government and insurance industry coming in and ruining everything, but the osteopathic profession has been good to me. I've enjoyed working in it. I enjoyed the politics of it. I enjoyed the business aspect of it. I enjoyed the friendships and the camaraderie I had with all the other osteopathic physicians. I've had a lot of good friends and still do have a lot of good friends in the profession; some of them are sitting right around this table right here.\n\nThat in a nutshell is what I think about it.\n\nCommittee Chair: Any additional comments?\n\nDr. Zachary:I appreciate your asking me to come and do this. It's been kind of thrilling to me to remember a lot of these things. My wife, Nancy, and I have sat down and talked about some of these issues that were involved.\n\nCommittee Chair: We thank you so much.\n\nDr. Zachary:Thank you. It was my pleasure. I enjoyed it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3490/collection_resources/162027/file/294257#t=0.0,2925.312"}]}]}]}