MURRAH HOPES TO
STRENGTHEN THE TIES THAT BIND
Bobby
Murrah, T'79, MD'83, HS'83-'85, wants to strengthen ties between Duke medical alumni, faculty, and
students as 1999-2000 president of the Medical Alumni Association. His priorities include: increasing alumni
involvement in student educational activities, broadening Medical Alumni Council-sponsored continuing medical
education programs, energizing alumni in support of the Medical Center’s mission, and encouraging dialogue
regarding "quality of life" issues for students and alumni.
Murrah, a Winter Park, Fla., orthopaedic surgeon and native of Atlanta, Ga., says that as a boarding school
student, he chose Duke from a list of top 10 schools posted on his math teacher’s bulletin board because it was
the only school with both its undergraduate and medical schools in the top 10.
"I had never seen the campus," says Murrah. "It was perhaps divine inspiration—I was passionate about
Duke long before arriving in Durham." As an undergraduate, Murrah was the Duke Blue Devil mascot. After
receiving his medical degree at Duke, he completed orthopaedic training at Union Memorial-Johns Hopkins
Hospitals and sports medicine specialty training at Michigan State University and Duke.
Murrah has long been an active participant in the Medical Alumni Association, serving on the Medical Alumni
Council since 1995. He also is a member of the Davison Club and was a supporter of the recently completed
Medical Alumni Association Fitness Center, provided for medical students and house staff.
Murrah is working with Medical Alumni Affairs staff and Medical Center administration to develop an elective
externship program at the School of Medicine. The program would allow current Duke medical students to
apprentice with medical alumni in the community. "It would involve our alumni to a greater extent in teaching
and responsibility for students," says Murrah, "and it would expose students to some great clinical experience
and the practical aspects of private practice."
Murrah also hopes to increase alumni participation in on-campus and regional activities. He is active in the
Florida Duke Medical Alumni organization, and began hosting an annual meeting there in 1998.
Expanding educational opportunities for alumni through the Internet and through educational conferences is
another area that Murrah would like to see further developed. Plans to bolster the annual alumni meeting and
continuing medical education conferences are already under way. He also supports the administration’s efforts to
improve the quality of life for Duke residents and interns as well as Dr. Russel Kaufman’s enhancement of the
White Coat and Hippocratic Oath ceremonies. He feels these ceremonies offer a unique and meaningful opportunity
for the Medical Alumni Council to also encourage exemplary medical conduct.
"As alumni, we should all be thinking towards making a regular contribution to the life of the School of
Medicine, whether through teaching, promoting Duke in our community, referring patients, or making philanthropic
donations," says Murrah. "We need to heighten awareness that as Duke achieves greater renown, our own
credentials as graduates are enhanced. As the medical profession is challenged by cultural and economic forces,
we must rally behind the Medical Center leadership as they strive to keep Duke at the forefront of medical
science and professionalism in research, patient care, and education."
Murrah currently practices at Madison, Mackey, Rogers, and Murrah Orthopaedic Associates in Winter Park and
Orlando, and he has served as chief of orthopaedic surgery at Winter Park Memorial Hospital. He is a member of
the Board of Directors of the Southern Orthopaedic Association, the Executive Council of the Florida Orthopaedic
Society, and president of the Citrus Orthopaedic Society. He is the team physician at both Winter Park and
Oviedo High Schools and staff physician at Camp Seagull, near the North Carolina coast. He and his wife, Lisa,
have three sons, Will, Brad, and Hamilton, and an infant daughter, Annie.
A Family Connection
On a blustery weekend in March, more than 286 Duke medical school students and their families gathered to
participate in the 18th annual Medical Families Weekend. Sponsored by the Duke Medical Alumni Association,
Medical Families Weekend—formerly known as Medical Parents Weekend—has evolved as an important
social, academic, and personal link between Duke University Medical School faculty, medical students and their
families.
Medical Families Weekend kicked off on Friday afternoon with open office hours for students' families at the
Davison Building. Russel Kaufman, MD, vice dean for medical education, and advisory deans and staff met
personally with MFW visitors. Then, evening activities got well underway by 5:30 p.m. at the Deans' Mixer, and
at 8 p.m., during the Medical Student-Faculty Show, titled, "Ascultation Powers."
The Saturday morning agenda presented an impressive array of lectures, ranging from, "An Update on Mood
Disorders," given by Duke assistant clinical professor of psychiatry Caroline Haynes, MD, PhD, to "Truth and
Beauty in the Anatomy Lab," led by Duke anthropologist Daniel Schmitt, PhD. Ralph Snyderman, MD, chancellor for
health affairs and president and CEO of Duke University Health System, spoke about the future of medical school
education, and the importance of the student's family. After lunch—in addition to golf at the Washington
Duke Inn—there was a three-busload trip to the Duke Primate Center, and tennis at the Faculty Club.
Members of the Duke Medical Alumni Council and the Davison Club Development Committee participated in the
activities. During the weekend, Robert Yowell, MD'61, HS'68, and his wife, Barbara, BSN'62, co-chairs of the
Medical Families Fund, announced gifts totaling close to $20,000 to the Medical Families Fund. The fund, which
has a goal of $35,000 for the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2000, supports a wide range of programs for medical
students.
