Vignettes from pancreas club members: Introduction

The history of medical science often consists of an enumeration of the incremental achievements of men and women focused on solving some biological mystery involving physiology or disease. Yet most histories provide little insight into why these individuals were motivated to work on or solve the problems at hand.Why do some physicians devote their lives to the study of the pancreas versus any other organ system? We are not aware of any systematic study of how physicians become directed to a particular career path. We do not know of any professional medical organization dedicated to the study of a particular organ that has asked its members to describe their motivations for such a career of study. This information is bound to be of interest and perhaps instructive to medical students and residents whose career paths are still open ended, as well as historians and the pertinent professional organization. Prompted by the desire to provide more than a listing of events and names in the chronology of the Pancreas Club, Inc., we asked themembers of the PancreasClub, Inc., to tell us how they came to devote their professional lives to the study of the pancreas. The real story of the Pancreas Club, Inc., is about the mix of men and women who bonded together as a result of common interests and problems to make the club into a constantly evolving, dynamic, meaningful, worthwhile relevant organization for its members. Although the Pancreas Club, Inc., membership has expanded in numbers over the years and has become international in scope, the bonds of common interest and fellowship continue to be the strength and appeal of the organization. These solicited vignettes tell the stories of more than 106 participants in the Pancreas Club, Inc., i.e., how they came to be