Home Print this page Email this page Small font sizeDefault font sizeIncrease font size
Users Online: 1020

 

Home About us Editorial board Search Ahead of print Current issue Archives Submit article Instructions Subscribe Advertise Contacts Login 
     

  Table of Contents  
LETTER TO EDITOR
Year : 2011  |  Volume : 52  |  Issue : 4  |  Page : 278  

Finding Maurice Pappworth


Centre for Public Health, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Block B, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast BT12 6BJ, United Kingdom

Date of Web Publication13-Mar-2012

Correspondence Address:
Allan Gaw
Centre for Public Health, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Block B, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast BT12 6BJ
United Kingdom
Login to access the Email id

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/0300-1652.93804

Rights and Permissions

How to cite this article:
Gaw A. Finding Maurice Pappworth. Niger Med J 2011;52:278

How to cite this URL:
Gaw A. Finding Maurice Pappworth. Niger Med J [serial online] 2011 [cited 2024 Mar 19];52:278. Available from: https://www.nigeriamedj.com/text.asp?2011/52/4/278/93804

Sir,

Maurice Henry Pappworth (1910-1994) was, by any standard, a controversial figure. As a life-long outsider he chose an unconventional career path as a private medical tutor rather than accept anything less than his first job choice - a consultant post in a London teaching hospital. This story is not in itself remarkable; many are disappointed in their careers and are forced to reconsider their options. What Pappworth did, however, was to excel in his role as a tutor, helping more than 1600 junior doctors to pass the grueling MRCP in postwar London. Many of these candidates were from Australasia, Canada, India, and West Africa and some have already written about their experiences. [1]

Pappworth's legacy, however, does not rest solely with this facilitation of young physicians to achieve their professional goals. His other major contribution, and one which has neither been fully documented nor appreciated, is his contribution to the development of medical research ethics. Pappworth was a whistle-blower and his 1967 book, Human Guinea Pigs, [2] is now regarded as a major milestone on the journey toward the modern system of research ethics committee review.

In my role as Director of the Glasgow Clinical Research Facility I have been involved for a number of years in teaching healthcare professionals about the conduct of clinical research. While working on a recent book on the history of clinical trials [3] I encountered Pappworth for the first time and have been interested in his story ever since. I feel strongly that his contributions need to be reevaluated and to this end I am now working on his biography.

I never met my subject and must rely on those who did, which is why I am now writing this letter. There are many West African physicians who attended Pappworth's classes in his Harley St. consulting rooms in the 1950-1970s, and I would very much like to hear their memories of the man and his methods. If you were one of Pappworth's students and would be willing to share your memories with me please consider contacting me by e-mail at [email protected] or by post at the address below.

Any historical research will only ever be as good as its sources. First-hand accounts of those who were actually there will always trump any others, and it is by speaking to those who worked closely with him that I hope to find Pappworth and offer him the reassessment I feel he deserves.

 
   References Top

1.Watson MH. Maurice Henry Pappworth MRCP (1936) FRCP (1993). Fellowship Affairs Apr, 29-31. RACP, Sydney; 1997.  Back to cited text no. 1
    
2.Pappworth MH. Human Guinea Pigs: Experimentation on man. London: Routledge; 1967.  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.Gaw A. Trial by Fire: Lessons from the history of clinical trials. Glasgow: SA Press; 2009.  Back to cited text no. 3
    




 

Top
  
 
  Search
 
    Similar in PUBMED
   Search Pubmed for
   Search in Google Scholar for
    Access Statistics
    Email Alert *
    Add to My List *
* Registration required (free)  

 
  In this article
    References

 Article Access Statistics
    Viewed3483    
    Printed220    
    Emailed0    
    PDF Downloaded138    
    Comments [Add]    

Recommend this journal