A letter to my mentor
A letter to my mentor | Image Credit: © sebra - © sebra - stock.adobe.com.
The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine 2024 annual meeting was held in Washington, DC, and I took the opportunity to spend some time with a favorite mentor of mine, John T. Queenan, MD, founder of Contemporary OB/GYN. As I reflect on the 52 years of this publication, his insight and foresight to see the need and create the opportunity for busy practitioners—like me—to stay up to date via concise, targeted articles with readily digestible graphics was spot on.
Queenan received his bachelor of science degree, cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame and earned his medical degree from Cornell University Medical School. He founded Contemporary OB/GYN in 1972, when he was professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Louisville. I met him during his time as professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Georgetown University Medical Center. Queenan has positively impacted obstetrics and gynecology directly through trainees and indirectly through his visionary ideas, creating new sources for the dissemination of information across the specialty and around the globe.
Directly impacting trainees, Queenan is known as an exemplary leader and a humble practitioner. I recall a day during my first year of fellowship training in the ultrasound unit, with him as faculty. He called me into a room to ask my thoughts on what he was seeing. I recall thinking to myself that faculty asking for my opinion, faculty with extensive experience and knowledge, was truly remarkable. It was a teachable moment underscoring that when we are uncertain, regardless of our stature or degree of training, reaching out for another opinion is the right thing to do.
Furthermore, Dr. Queenan routinely sought feedback on his editorials for Contemporary OB/GYN to ensure the information was timely, accurate, and on target. We continue to deliver on his principles to this day––providing peer-reviewed, timely information to the busy practitioner in an easily digestible format.
He also launched two textbooks, Queenan’s Management of High-Risk Pregnancy and Protocols for High-Risk Pregnancies. Both are now in their seventh edition and have been translated into numerous languages. His ability to ensure the local practitioner has what they need in a concise format has likely affected outcomes worldwide.
Additionally, as associate editor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Dr. Queenan launched the Clinical Expert Series, a series that has disseminated evidence-based information on timely topics from experts in the field. To accomplish all of these, Dr. Queenan called upon his colleagues and friends, whose esteem and respect for him is evident. By creating and editing books and journals, as well as writing articles, he has helped to improve health care for women and children.
Like many others, I am indebted to him, a colossus in the field. Dr. Queenan, your vision and insight has had an incredible impact on maternal-fetal medicine. Thank you from all of us.
