Who led the first class of Navy corpsmen at Duke?

Who led the first class of Navy corpsmen at Duke?

• A. Eugene Stead MD
• B. James Wilson
• C. John Doe
• D. Mary Smith

Answer: (A)

Eugene Stead, MD, led the first class of Navy corpsmen at Duke. Stead was a Duke University physician who organized and directed the program to train Navy hospital corpsmen to work under physicians, starting at Duke during the WWII era. This initiative established the model for medically trained corpsmen assisting doctors and laid groundwork that later influenced the development of the physician assistant role at Duke in the 1960s. The other names don’t have a historical connection to Duke’s corpsman leadership.

Eugene Stead, MD, led the first class of Navy corpsmen at Duke. Stead was a Duke University physician who organized and directed the program to train Navy hospital corpsmen to work under physicians, starting at Duke during the WWII era. This initiative established the model for medically trained corpsmen assisting doctors and laid groundwork that later influenced the development of the physician assistant role at Duke in the 1960s. The other names don’t have a historical connection to Duke’s corpsman leadership.