Aviation medicine graduate training at Ohio State University, 1955-1977

Between 1955 and 1977, The Ohio State University sponsored what is believed to be the first residency training program in aviation medicine. The training program was instigated by Richard Meiling, M.D., the associate dean of the College of Medicine, who had been a U.S. Army flight surgeon during World War II. Dr. Meiling was active after the war in a committee of physicians that advocated establishment of a residency training program and certification of aviation medicine as an approved specialty. From 1955 to 1977, 51 physicians were trained at Ohio State in aviation (later aerospace) and occupational medicine. The programs were located in the Department of Preventive Medicine and directed by William F. Ashe, M.D., chairman. It was a 3-yr residency: the first was an academic year that included full-time coursework and research, and a second year was also devoted to advanced coursework and field experience, during which the resident finished conducting research and submitted a thesis. The third year was a practicum in which the residents were located at any of a number of academic, aeronautical, or industrial sites under supervision of faculty members. They were then qualified to take the examinations of the American Board of Preventive Medicine in either aviation or occupational medicine. A number of graduates took both examinations during the first years of practice following their training; several continued to practice in both specialties throughout their careers.