Why is vivien thomas important

Despite the deep respect Thomas was accorded by these surgeons and by the many black lab technicians he trained at Hopkins, he was not well paid. This led to the peculiar circumstance of his serving drinks to people he had been teaching earlier in the day. On one hand, he defended his choice of Thomas to his superiors at Vanderbilt and to Hopkins colleagues, and he insisted that Thomas accompany him in the operating room during the first series of tetralogy operations.

On the other hand, there were limits to his tolerance, especially when it came to issues of pay, academic acknowledgment, and his social interaction outside of work. Levi Watkins, Jr. In , Johns Hopkins University presented Thomas with an honorary doctorate. Thomas, a skilled carpenter, saved for seven years to pay for his education. However, he lost his savings during the Great Depression.

Blalock mentored Thomas and taught him to conduct experiments. He also moonlighted as a bartender to support his family. Two years and dogs later, he demonstrated that the corrective procedure was not fatal, and in turn offered a lifeline to children suffering from Blue Baby Syndrome. During the first procedure in , Thomas stood on a step stool behind Blalock as at the time, he was not allowed to conduct it himself , instructing his colleague step-by-step, until the defect was safely corrected for the first time in a human patient.

Thomas was never even mentioned. Due to his poor salary, Thomas resorted to bartending in order to support his family. Despite working two jobs one in ground-breaking surgical research and the other bartending , Thomas devoted much of his time to mentoring a number of African-American lab technicians. Thomas with an honorary doctorate in an overdue acknowledgement of his contributions to medicine. Thomas rose above the barriers of poverty and racism and quietly changed the course of medical history, not for credit he inevitably deserved, but because important work he conducted saved lives.

Thomas was awarded an honorary doctorate by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine for his many contributions in and named an instructor in surgery. His perseverance and tenacity to find a way to work in medicine despite the barriers led to work that has served many children around the world — regardless of the color of their skin. Diversity and equity in the workforce and the delivery of health care are key to transforming cardiovascular care.

The College is committed to building and fostering a pipeline of future leaders like Vivien Thomas who can continue to shape the future and leave their own mark on the profession. Celebrate Black History Month and read about more Black pioneers in medicine. Click here to start. Tweet CardiologyMag. Feature ACC.