J. Charles Rich, Jr., MD, of Salt Lake City, Utah, became the 64 th President of The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) during ceremonies held at the Association’s 1996 Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
An active member of the AANS since 1975, the Utah native has held such leadership positions as Secretary (1991-94), Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee (1995), Chairman of the Task Force on Orthopaedic Relations, and Chairman of the Membership Committee (1989). He has been a member of the Board of Directors since 1991.
Dr. Rich, who is in private neurosurgical practice in Salt Lake City, is also Chairman of the Neurological Surgery Division of Latter Day Saints Hospital, and holds an appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Utah Medical Center.
Following his freshman year of undergraduate studies at the University of Utah, Dr. Rich served a tour of military duty with the Army Security Agency from 1956 -58 in Heilbron, Germany. He went on to earn his medical degree from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1965 and served his internship and residency in general surgery at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore from 1965-67. He completed his four-year residency in Neurological Surgery in 1971 at Massachu setts General Hospital in Boston.
In addition to his work with the AANS, Dr. Rich has held leadership roles in several other professional organizations, including an appointment to the Executive Committee (1977-87) of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). He also served as Vice Chairman of the American Board of Neurological Surgery (1986-87), and as Trustee, Speaker of the House of Delegates, and as a member of the Executive Committee for the Utah Medical Association. He also holds memberships in the Western Neurosurgical Society of America, and Neurosurgical Society of America. In recognition of his work with CNS, he was given the organization’s 1986 Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Rich and his wife, Jasmine, have five sons.
Following are some brief musings from Dr. Rich as he embarks upon his year as President of the AANS. If you have questions of Dr. Rich, he may be reached at his E-mail address: [email protected].
Q. Describe your current practice, including any special interests.
A. I am part of a fairly busy general group neurosurgical practice, somewhat altered since I became president of the AANS in that I can no longer cover our very busy ER and Trauma Service this year.
Q. Do you have any specific goal(s) you would like to accomplish during your year asPresident?
A. One year is a brief stewardship, but I am committed to getting all of the component parts of American Neurosurgery traveling in the same direction, in common cause.
Q. As you begin your Presidential year, do you have any message(s) for the membership?
A. My primary message to our membership is to be sure that you are well-informed about the issues facing Neurosurgery today and urge that you get involved locally and nationally. You can make a difference.
Q. Early in your college career you dabbled in cartooning. Are you still interested in artistic endeavors?
A. I have always done cartoons, caricatures, and life drawing. In fact, I had a regular cartoon feature in my university newspaper, The Daily Chronicle, during my freshman undergraduate year and did artwork on our yearbook, the Utonian. However, in order to earn a decent living as an artist, you have to be a lot better, relative to your peers. Artists have my great respect, they have one demanding profession.