Credentials Committee, 1972

Patient records, correspondence, administrative records, lectures, writings, and motion picture films and videos document the surgical, teaching, hospital administrative, and editorial and writing career of pediatric surgeon Mark M. Ravitch, perhaps best known as an expert on the correction of chest-wall deformities in children and as a pioneer in the use of mechanical suturing in surgery. The collection is especially rich in surgical records and patient/physician correspondence, records of his medical journal editorial work and his own writing, and films documenting his surgical procedures and technique. There is little material related to his personal life.

Biographical Information, Series 1 (1932-1989) is relatively sparse and primarily informed by personal correspondence between Dr. Ravitch and his family (1980s), cvs, and a few articles about Dr. Ravitch's work.

Administrative Records, Series 2 (1942-1987) mostly represents Dr. Ravitch's work with the University of Pittsburgh and Montefiore Hospital (1969-1989). They consist primarily of interdepartmental correspondence, subject files related to specific departments or initiatives, and sometimes committee meeting minutes and reports.

Correspondence, Series 3 (1945-1989) cover Dr. Ravitch's professional interchanges usually with physicians. The series is organized by institution, then arranged alphabetically by correspondent name which Ravitch then often organized into yearly sets. When a set of correspondence's dates overlap between institutions, it is listed with the institution to which a majority belongs.

Subject Files, Series 4 (1942-1988) are contemporary to the correspondence. They cover topics such as medical conditions and studies along with information about interactions with other medical institutions.

Dr. Ravitch was a prolific author throughout his long career. Writings, Series 5 (1930-1988) divides his contributions into three parts. Beginning in the mid-1960s he regularly contributed chapters to a variety of compiled medical textbooks (1966-1988). He wrote or co-wrote more than 450 articles on surgical technique, diseases, and medical history (1930-1988), and similarly authored or co-authored 10 books (1959-1987). These are arranged in subseries according to numbers Dr. Ravitch assigned to them in his cv. Contributions which do not appear in the cv list are listed chronologically in a separate subseries.

Editorial Activities, Series 6 (1959-1989) covers two categories in which Dr. Ravitch lent his professional expertise and guidance: journals and books. From 1963 until 1989 he served on editorial boards for several medical journals, often for longer than a decade at each. From 1959 to 1987 he contributed to editorial boards for many surgical compilations. These are arranged chronologically.

Meetings and Conferences, Series 7 (1947-1987) documents arrangements, agendas, notes, and professional activities Dr. Ravitch engaged in throughout the world and are organized chronologically. For further information about specific meetings, one might also consult Series 8, Professional and Scientific Societies, the files of which often contain meeting programs among the correspondence. Though many of the meetings involved annual attendance at medical society functions, Dr. Ravitch often maintained a separate series of files devoted to individual professional and scientific societies organized as Series 8 (1947-1989).

Ravitch was as prolific a teacher and lecturer as he was a surgeon. Series 9, Teaching, Lectures, and Speeches (1950-1989) is divided into specific coursework and student records at the University of Pittsburgh (1970-1985), speeches given at certain occasions, and lectures and workshops he conducted during his travels to medical schools and hospitals throughout the United States.

Research, Series 10 (1952-1981) is generally defined to include both medical and educational activities. There is a relatively small series consisting of material on experimental surgical studies and also records of site visits conducted by Dr. Ravitch on behalf of educational committees (1970-1973). Grants, Series 11 (1964-1971), and Litigation, Series 12 (1981-1989), also form a minor part of the collection and were not subjects which Dr. Ravitch comprehensively documented.

Most of the Audiovisual Materials, Series 13 (1951-c.1982) are undated except for a 1963 audio tape of an Alfred Blalock lecture at NIH. Along with his pediatric work, they document the wide variety of operations and conditions Ravitch treated as a general surgeon. Two videocassettes contain surgical demonstrations by Dr. Ravitch's research partner, Felicien Steichen. Several audiocassettes record Dr. Ravitch dictating correspondence, probably from the 1980s.

Patient Files, Series 14 and other restricted material consist primarily of extensive files maintained, by name, of Dr. Ravitch's patients at Johns Hopkins, the University of Chicago, and the University of Pittsburgh. There are also letters discussing particular patients interspersed through his entire career correspondence. Access is restricted according to HMD's Access to Personally Identifiable Health Information Policy.