Academic pursuits in the multispecialty clinic

Although usually viewed as institutions that provide excellence in health care delivery, the larger multispecialty clinics must also be considered as major national academic resources. The professional staffs at multispecialty clinics not only have provided important contributions scientifically but have also made a major clinical impact on overall health care delivery. This issue is dedicated to the founding physicians of Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation and, in particular, to Alton Ochsner who provided the guiding inspiration in a continuing quest to achieve these academic goals.