Passion for Excellence : My Lifelong Journey Into Medicine and Public Service

This autobiography chronicles the life and career of Haralampos M. Moutsopoulos, an internationally renowned professor of medicine and prolific researcher on Sjögren’s syndrome and autoimmune rheumatic diseases. In language that is simple and direct, he takes us on a fascinating journey from the days of his first scientific awakenings at a hospital in his native town of Ioannina, Greece, through his university years in Athens and training in the U.S., to his eventual return to his homeland. In Greece, he developed two centers of excellence in his field, first at the newly founded University of Ioannina Medical School Department of Internal Medicine and, second, at the Athens University Medical School, Department of Pathophysiology, where he taught until his retirement in 2011. Along the way, he introduces us to his teachers and mentors, and to the colleagues and students he mentored in turn, many of whom went on to assume high-ranking positions in Greece and abroad. A major theme throughout the book is his impassioned struggle for excellence, meritocracy, and transparency in universities and in the National Health System in Greece. Peppered with both amusing and unsettling incidents from this lifelong crusade to raise professional standards and against misconduct, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in learning about or entering the medical profession. Preface Acknowledgments Contents About the Author 1 Coming of Age 2 Student Years 3 Young Physician 3.1 In the Army 3.2 Public Health Service 3.3 Trainee in Internal Medicine 4 Emigrant 4.1 Physician in Training 4.1.1 Washington, D.C. 4.1.2 San Francisco 4.1.3 Back to Washington, D.C. 4.2 Teacher and Researcher 4.3 Meeting Another Giant of Medicine 4.4 Advisor and Coordinator of Greek Colleagues 4.5 An Opportunity to Repatriate 5 Chair of Internal Medicine, Ioannina University Medical School 5.1 Assuming the Chair 5.2 Selecting Secretaries 5.3 And the Problems Begin 5.3.1 Side-Stepping the Law 5.3.2 Clashing with Students 5.3.3 Formalities that Discourage Physician Repatriation 5.3.4 Deflecting Unfounded Accusations 5.4 Serving as an Elector for New Professors 5.5 Life Goes On 5.6 Administrative Obstacles 5.7 Back to Work 5.8 The University Framework Law: Radical Change 5.9 Solving Public Health Problems 5.10 Unexpected Difficulties on a Scientific Trip to Turkey 5.11 Setting Standards for Academic Promotion 5.12 Scientific Trips Behind the Iron Curtain 5.13 An Experience in Israel 5.14 Environmental Pollution or Protection? 5.15 Arson Attack on Our Laboratory 5.16 Support from a Distinguished Epirote Politician 5.17 The Leap to Freedom: An Albanian Colleague Defects 5.18 Educator Abroad 5.18.1 Sabbatical Year in France 5.18.2 Australian Days 5.19 Acquiring New Equipment: The Perils of Overzealousness 5.20 The Beginning of the End of the Ioannina Era 5.21 Candidate for Professorship at the Athens University Medical School 6 Department of Pathophysiology, Athens University Medical School 6.1 Assuming the Professorship 6.2 First Visit to the Athens University Laïko General Hospital 6.3 Separating the Wheat from the Chaff 6.4 Reorganization of the Department of Pathophysiology 6.5 The Development of a Biomedical Institute in Ioannina 6.6 The Unraveling of the Department of Internal Medicine in Ioannina 6.7 Patience and Persistence Get Things Done 6.8 Medical Councils 6.9 The Scourge of Medical Schools and the Healthcare System 6.9.1 Nepotism and Internal Favoritism 6.9.2 How to Deal with “Black Money” 6.10 The Predictions of a Palm Reader 6.11 Public Official: National Policy for Medicines 6.11.1 First Period: President, National Committee for a List of Prescription Medicines 6.11.2 Second Period: President, National Organization for Medicines 6.12 A Brief Foray into Politics 6.13 The Hellenic National Library: Chairman of the Board of Directors 6.14 Eighteen-Year Directorship of the Department of Pathophysiology: A Review 6.15 Collecting Art: A Passion Beyond Medicine and Public Service 6.16 The Academy of Athens: Reaching the “Top” This autobiography chronicles the life and career of Haralampos M. Moutsopoulos, an internationally renowned professor of medicine and prolific researcher on Sjogrens syndrome and autoimmune rheumatic diseases. In language that is simple and direct, he takes us on a fascinating journey from the days of his first scientific awakenings at a hospital in his native town of Ioannina, Greece, through his university years in Athens and training in the U.S., to his eventual return to his homeland. In Greece, he developed two centers of excellence in his field, first at the newly founded University of Ioannina Medical School Department of Internal Medicine and, second, at the Athens University Medical School, Department of Pathophysiology, where he taught until his retirement in 2011. Along the way, he introduces us to his teachers and mentors, and to the colleagues and students he mentored in turn, many of whom went on to assume high-ranking positions in Greece and abroad. A major theme throughout the book is his impassioned struggle for excellence, meritocracy, and transparency in universities and in the National Health System in Greece. Peppered with both amusing and unsettling incidents from this lifelong crusade to raise professional standards and against misconduct, the book is a must-read for anyone interested in learning about or entering the medical profession