The Story Behind the Photograph
An old graduation photograph brings Laurence Kirwan back to the beginning of his professional training. In this personal reflection, he recalls details of medical school, residency and how his interests changed over time.
I keep this graduation picture of myself in my consultation room. Patients ask if that is me and we laugh together at the haircut and the effects of aging. I have a lot less hair now, although even if I had a thick matt I doubt I would opt for that style. I wore bow-ties until I finished my residency training which was 13 years after this picture was taken. Then I switched to ties and nowadays just a nice open-necked tailor-made shirt. For some reason, I was not wearing the purple University of Manchester (UoM) tie.
Purple UoM tie below:
This was the artist, below, 13 years after graduation from Medical School, receiving his final training Diploma at the end of a grueling but enjoyable two-year Plastic Surgery Residency training. Dr. Fred McCoy, the Program Director is the gentleman to the right proudly passing the baton.
You may hear hackneyed phrases about how we achieve greatness by standing on the shoulders of giants. Fred McCoy was one of those giants. I was fortunate to stand on his shoulders and that of his partner Al Chandler. I was trained in their private practice as well as at the Children's Mercy Hospital and Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. It is fitting to credit them on a World Wide Web that did not exist in their lifetimes.
Above: Fred McCoy.
Above: Al Chandler
Before graduation from the Plastic Surgery Residency, I had completed a Hand Surgery Fellowship at the University of Colorado in Denver and before that General Surgery training in the United Kingdom and Australia. I was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and would pass my Boards in Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery after I went into Private Practice in Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Below is a picture of Maurice "Morry" Kirwan, my father, at his graduation from the University of Liverpool Medical School in 1945. He was the first generation of his family to graduate from University. Morry was wearing the Liverpool University Tie. Morry gave Dr. McCoy a "Bobby" Helmet from the Merseyside Police.
Explore About Laurence Kirwan for related artwork and background.
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