History

History of the Houston Radiological Society

The following is an excerpt from 'A History of Diagnostic Imaging'

By Gerald Dodd, Jr. & Otha W. Linton on the formation of the Houston Radiological Society

What is now known as the Houston Radiological Society had been organized in 1949 as the Houston X-ray Club. Although all board certified radiologists practicing in the Houston Area were eligible for membership, attendance at meetings was poor and the format more or less conformed to the name of the organization. It was indeed a "club" of senior people with only 8 to 12 members at the average meeting. The sessions were held in a small conference room on the second floor of the Jesse Jones Library. A 30 - 45 minute business meeting was followed by the presentation of one or two interesting cases by a member who had been assigned the responsibility for that month at the start of the year. Questions were followed by dinner at the third floor Doctors' Club if so desired. Dinner expenses were the responsibility of the individual members.

In 1967, during the course of a discussion about the need for continuing education in radiology, James Keegan and Gerry Dodd concluded that the Houston Radiological Society was the proper vehicle to improve the quality of postgraduate radiological education in Houston. To achieve the desired format, changes in the bylaws were necessary and these required ratification by the society as a whole. The changes included a fairly substantial increase in dues and there was some question as to whether or not this would be acceptable to the longtime members. Accordingly, the entire radiological staffs of St. Joseph's Hospital and MD Anderson Hospital were badgered, coerced, begged or otherwise induced to attend the meeting at which the new bylaws were to be presented. This included radiotherapists, most of who were members but never attended. Thanks to this relatively large and thoroughly lobbied attendance, the bylaw changes were adopted without difficulty; the format has remained essentially unchanged since its adoption. There is an active committee structure and the speakers are usually prominent radiologists from all corners of the country. One program, usually in October, is replaced by a two day categorical course presented jointly by the Baylor College of Medicine and the society. Three other programs were co-sponsored by the society and MD Anderson Cancer Center (the McKenzie, Doubleday and Dunn lectures) and a fourth, in memory of Robert Moreton, by the Dunn Foundation.

Dr Gerald D. Dodd Jr, Robert D. Moreton Professor Emeritus of Diagnostic Radiology, MDACC briefing Dr Mahesh Shetty, President HRS on the history of the Houston Radiological Society