Richard Clarke Cabot
Encyclopedia
Richard Clarke Cabot was an American physician who advanced clinical hematology
, was an innovator in teaching methods, and was a pioneer in social work
.
. His paternal grandfather Samuel Cabot became a sailor at age 19 and married Elizabeth Perkins, daughter of a very successful Boston trader. Samuel later took over the running of the firm. His son, James Cabot, studied philosophy in Europe and taught it at Havard. He also trained as a lawyer and biographer, and was a friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson
. He married Elizabeth, and both held Transcendentalist
views. This philosophy, as well as his parent's strong commitment to philanthropy had a strong influence of Richard. Around the end of the 19th Century, such ideals were out of favour, with the dominant beliefs at the time being social darwinism
.
before switching to medicine. Inspired by the beliefs of John Dewey
, Cabot felt more drawn to action than contemplation, and he admired the work of Teddy Roosevelt and Jane Addams
. After completing his studies in 1892, he turned down the role of the first bacteriologist
at Massachusetts General Hospital
to work in the hospital's much less prestigious outpatient department. At this time, outpatient wards dealt mostly with people who couldn't afford inpatient treatment, or for the treatment of incurable chronic conditions such tuberculosis
or diabetes. This involved working populations who lived in unhealthy, overcrowded accommodation, often recent migrants.
He changed the way that the outpatient department was run, believing that economic, social, family and psychological conditions underpinned many of the conditions that patients presented with. He envisaged that social workers would work in a complementary relationship with doctors, the former concentrating on physiological health, and the latter on social health. In addition to this, he saw that social work could improve medicine by providing a critical perspective on it while working alongside it in an organisational setting. In 1905 Cabot created one of the first positions of professional social worker in the world, given to Garnet Pelton, and then to Ida Cannon.. The hospital refused to support the hiring of social workers, and Cabot had to pay their wages himself. Pelten developed tuberculosis herself soon after taking up the position and was forced to retire. Cannon stayed in the position for forty years and became Head of Social Work at the hospital. Cabot and Cannon pioneered many programs to improve the health of patients, including art classes for psychiatric patients, low-cost meals for patients and research on the social factors that increased a person's likelihood of developing tuberculosis.
In 1917 Cabot took up a position in the Medical Reserve Corps
for a year. He returned briefly to Massachusetts General Hospital in 1918 and then left to take up the position of chair at Harvard's Department of Social Ethics in 1919. At this time, the hospital agreed to pay the wages of social workers, as up to this point, Cabot had paid the wages of thirteen social workers over the last 12 years. He went on to write about his experiences in his book Social Work
He is also credited with discovering Cabot rings
, and for describing, along with his colleague, Locke, the eponymous
Cabot-Locke murmur
, a diastolic murmur occasionally heard in severe anemia
, unrelated to heart valve
abnormalities.
Cabot established a tradition of teaching conferences at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) that featured generating differential diagnoses, and founded the long standing feature of Case Record of MGH in New England Journal of Medicine.
Hematology
Hematology, also spelled haematology , is the branch of biology physiology, internal medicine, pathology, clinical laboratory work, and pediatrics that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases...
, was an innovator in teaching methods, and was a pioneer in social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
.
Family History
Richard Clarke Cabot was born 21 May 1868, in Brookline, MassachusettsBrookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
. His paternal grandfather Samuel Cabot became a sailor at age 19 and married Elizabeth Perkins, daughter of a very successful Boston trader. Samuel later took over the running of the firm. His son, James Cabot, studied philosophy in Europe and taught it at Havard. He also trained as a lawyer and biographer, and was a friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
. He married Elizabeth, and both held Transcendentalist
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s in the New England region of the United States as a protest against the general state of culture and society, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian...
views. This philosophy, as well as his parent's strong commitment to philanthropy had a strong influence of Richard. Around the end of the 19th Century, such ideals were out of favour, with the dominant beliefs at the time being social darwinism
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism is a term commonly used for theories of society that emerged in England and the United States in the 1870s, seeking to apply the principles of Darwinian evolution to sociology and politics...
.
Professional career
Cabot studied philosophy at Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
before switching to medicine. Inspired by the beliefs of John Dewey
John Dewey
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
, Cabot felt more drawn to action than contemplation, and he admired the work of Teddy Roosevelt and Jane Addams
Jane Addams
Jane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...
. After completing his studies in 1892, he turned down the role of the first bacteriologist
Bacteriology
Bacteriology is the study of bacteria. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classification, and characterization of bacterial species...
at Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
to work in the hospital's much less prestigious outpatient department. At this time, outpatient wards dealt mostly with people who couldn't afford inpatient treatment, or for the treatment of incurable chronic conditions such tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
or diabetes. This involved working populations who lived in unhealthy, overcrowded accommodation, often recent migrants.
He changed the way that the outpatient department was run, believing that economic, social, family and psychological conditions underpinned many of the conditions that patients presented with. He envisaged that social workers would work in a complementary relationship with doctors, the former concentrating on physiological health, and the latter on social health. In addition to this, he saw that social work could improve medicine by providing a critical perspective on it while working alongside it in an organisational setting. In 1905 Cabot created one of the first positions of professional social worker in the world, given to Garnet Pelton, and then to Ida Cannon.. The hospital refused to support the hiring of social workers, and Cabot had to pay their wages himself. Pelten developed tuberculosis herself soon after taking up the position and was forced to retire. Cannon stayed in the position for forty years and became Head of Social Work at the hospital. Cabot and Cannon pioneered many programs to improve the health of patients, including art classes for psychiatric patients, low-cost meals for patients and research on the social factors that increased a person's likelihood of developing tuberculosis.
In 1917 Cabot took up a position in the Medical Reserve Corps
Medical Reserve Corps
The Medical Reserve Corps is a network in the U.S. of community-based units initiated and established by local organizations to meet the public health needs of their communities. It is sponsored by the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States...
for a year. He returned briefly to Massachusetts General Hospital in 1918 and then left to take up the position of chair at Harvard's Department of Social Ethics in 1919. At this time, the hospital agreed to pay the wages of social workers, as up to this point, Cabot had paid the wages of thirteen social workers over the last 12 years. He went on to write about his experiences in his book Social Work
He is also credited with discovering Cabot rings
Cabot rings
Cabot rings are thin, red-violet staining, threadlike strands in the shape of a loop or figure-8 that are found on rare occasions in erythrocytes...
, and for describing, along with his colleague, Locke, the eponymous
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
Cabot-Locke murmur
Murmur
Murmur usually means:*Murmur , a soft-sounded and quiet utterance/talking "under your breath" so it is hard to understand what the speaker is saying*Breathy voice, a type of phonation in speechIt can also refer to:-Medical:...
, a diastolic murmur occasionally heard in severe anemia
Anemia
Anemia is a decrease in number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin...
, unrelated to heart valve
Heart valve
A heart valve normally allows blood flow in only one direction through the heart. The four valves commonly represented in a mammalian heart determine the pathway of blood flow through the heart...
abnormalities.
Cabot established a tradition of teaching conferences at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) that featured generating differential diagnoses, and founded the long standing feature of Case Record of MGH in New England Journal of Medicine.