On December 20, 2005, J. Leonard Goldner died at the age of eighty-seven. A
native of Omaha, Nebraska, he graduated from the University of Minnesota in
1939. He continued his education at the University of Nebraska, receiving a
bachelor of science and a medical degree in 1943. During World War II, he
served in the South Pacific as a medical officer in the United States
Navy.
Dr. Goldner completed his residency training at Duke University, and in
1950 he joined the Duke Orthopaedic Surgery staff, eventually rising to serve
as Chief of the Division from 1967 through 1984. He was awarded the James B.
Duke Professorship in 1979. Although he retired in 1988, Dr. Goldner continued
to teach and attend conferences and clinics until two months before his
death.
During his career, Dr. Goldner was active in various orthopaedic
associations, serving as President of the American Orthopaedic Association,
the Southern Medical Association, and the North Carolina Orthopaedic
Association. He also served as the President of the American Society for
Surgery of the Hand and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society. In
1981, Dr. Goldner was presented with the Distinguished Civilian Service Award
from the United States Secretary of the Army, and in 2004 he received the
AOA-Smith and Nephew Endoscopy Distinguished Clinician Educator Award, which
"represents national recognition of exceptional orthopaedic clinician
educators."
Dr. Goldner was a self-disciplinarian, a dedicated teacher, a tireless
surgeon, a respected leader, and, above all, a humanitarian. He was
unparalleled as a teacher and personified the Socratic method; as a result,
all of those who trained under him became better teachers themselves.
His attitude was confident, positive, and optimistic, and it carried over
to all of his trainees. As a mentor, his enthusiasm was infectious and he
stimulated his trainees and faculty to higher accomplishments than they ever
thought possible. He was not negative about anyone or anything. He did not
believe in wasting time and energy complaining about situations,
administrators, or imagined competition that he or his colleagues could not
change or control. He was committed to "moving on" in a positive
and constructive manner in order to help others and also himself. The Duke
orthopaedic staff, past and present, all recall his famous
"Goldnergrams" or "Goldnerisms," many of which
dispensed sage advice. For example, on examining a patient's foot in the
clinic to see if the surgery was successful (i.e., that the tarsal bones of
the triple arthrodesis had united), he remarked: "There is motion
present; it's imperceptible, but I can feel it." His students and
colleagues indeed believed that he could perceive the imperceptible.
Dr. Goldner was more than a tireless surgeon; he was a complete physician.
In his formal lessons, but mostly by his example, he taught how to evaluate
patients through talking to them and also listening to them, learning not only
about their complaints and mechanism of injury but also about their work,
family, social behavior, and desires and expectations. He never looked at
radiographs or other images until he had obtained a complete history and
performed a very thorough physical examination.
By his practice, Dr. Goldner proved that a warm and compassionate
engagement with the patient was 90% responsible for gaining the respect of the
patient even if a precise diagnosis was not made. He demonstrated that
appropriate facial expressions, body movement, a calm voice, and an overall
friendly attitude were the main ingredients of a good and lasting
doctor-patient relationship.
He never appeared hurried or rushed, and his colleagues never heard him
speak in an angry or harsh voice to a patient, nurse, attendant, or, for that
matter, to anyone around him. He often stated that when communication with a
patient became difficult, the caregiver should remember that "the
patient is sick—not you."
Dr. Goldner strongly believed that perfection should be the goal of all
surgeons, yet he appreciated that few of his trainees or colleagues could
achieve such an ideal. He had no favorites, and the residents, fellows, and
faculty were all a part of his family. However, he was also a competitor, as
those who played tennis or golf with him will attest. He did not concede
anything.
He never wore a beeper or carried a cell phone and once said, "I
never had an important phone call in my life; I can be found if needed."
Yet he immediately called a referring physician, especially when a patient
sought his advice after leaving another physician. He contacted the physician
not only to inform him or her about his recommendations but also to reassure
the physician. Dr. Goldner had much to teach about building and maintaining
relationships. He frequently emphasized the importance of maintaining a sense
of humor in our work, especially the ability to laugh at oneself at times to
maintain emotional stability.
To his friends and colleagues, it was not so important that he was
president of many organizations but rather that he never campaigned for any of
those honors. He never neglected his family or friends, and was truly a
humanitarian of the highest order.
He stressed the importance of being perceptive about patients, colleagues,
and oneself—a necessary quality for a physician. In relation to his
illness, one of his last statements was, "You play the hand you were
dealt."
A magnificent giant has fallen and there will never be another one to match
him. Whether one was a family member, friend, colleague, or student, his sound
principles will remain with all who knew him.