The White Coat Chronicles (First Edition)

Dr. Fried retired from the practice of surgery and urology in 2000. At the time of his retirement he was Professor of Surgery and former Chief of the Division of Urology at the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill. For some time before that he began to write vignettes about his experiences as a teacher, researcher and clinician. In so doing he collected a number of stories that focused on his forty-year career in academic medicine. He has assembled these tales in chronological order. At the start of each piece he sets the scene with italicized comments. The White Coat Chronicles stands as a tribute to Brooklyn College, The University of Chicago and The University of North Carolina as well as the outstanding teachers patients and students that have illuminated his path.

Dr. Fried grew up in Brooklyn, an only child, in a Jewish family of modest means. As a teenager he spent school holidays and vacation time working in his family's struggling produce business. He observed the price that his parents and grandfather paid as they labored to eek out enough money to support the small family. This experience proved to be valuable as it convinced him that he needed to obtain further education and explore alternative career opportunities. Contemporary views reinforced his high esteem for the medical profession. At Brooklyn College he developed strong interests in the biological sciences. As he continued through college and medical school he further found that the role in medicine that he most enjoyed was the opportunity to educate students, resident physicians and patients. By design, he trained in urology at The University of Chicago an institution that nurtured the teaching and research role for their students. Upon completion of his training at The University of Chicago he was appointed in the department of surgery as an Assistant Professor. Three years later he was recruited by the University of North Carolina School of Medicine as the director of urology, a position he held for twenty-three years.