Dr. Ron Browne – April 15, 2016

Dr. Ron Browne, Professor Emeritus and third chair of the Department of Anesthesia at McMaster University, passed away on April 15, 2016 at the Brantford General Hospital at the age of 87.

Born on June 2, 1928, Dr. Browne was a Barbadian-Canadian physician, trained at Aberdeen Universitym the Hull Group of Hospitals in Yorkshire, Liverpool University, and the University College of the West Indies (Jamaica) before receiving his FFARCS (Eng) and subsequently his LMCC (1966) and FRPC in Anesthesia (1972) for Canadian practice.

He was an active staff member at the Hamilton Civic Hospitals beginning in 1965, serving as Head of Service for the General Division from 1980 to 1990. He joined the geographic full-time anesthesia soon after the medical school opened at McMaster and served throughout the remained of his career, including a period as Acting Chair of the Department of Anesthesia from 1984 to 1985. He was appointed as Professor in 1986, a notable achievement for a faculty member with a primarily clinical interest, as the idea of a clinician educator had yet to be fully realized within the university as a whole. The promotion was in recognition of his consistent service in education subsequent to the establishment of the medical school and his research activities again were unusual for someone whose practice was primarily clinical.

He was particularly interested in risks of exposure to disease for operating room personnel and studied the prevalence of the hepatitis B antibody in anesthesiologists and others in the OR with his colleagues, Drs. Max Chernesky and Peter Rondi, both in Canada and the West Indies.

In reviewing the letters of support for his promotion to Professor, it is clear that he was universally respected by surgeons, administrators, and anesthesia colleagues as a calm, caring, and extremely competent individual whose demeanour contributed greatly to ensuring good relations between the newly-established university health care community and the existing practitioners who embraced the academic opportunities afforded by the arrival of the new medical school, and who carried out a long and rewarding career with good grace and enjoyment.