On June 26, 2012, the UAB Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency Program held its first annual Legacy Dinner at the home of Professor Emeritus Dr. C. Glenn Cobbs. Some 35 rising senior residents and 10 current and former UAB faculty shared the evening of fellowship and reflection on the role of the physician.

Three generations of UAB resident graduates, including faculty who trained directly under Dr. Tinsley Harrison, spoke about his lessons, values and mentorship, and described how the core values of our profession remain present and relevant in today’s training environment.

The speakers included Dr. Cecil Coghlan, retired professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Disease; Dr. William E. Dismukes, former director of the residency program and former Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases; Dr. Cobbs, former chief of medicine for the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center and former professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases; Dr. George H. Karam, Chief Medical Resident in 1981 and now Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at LSU-Baton Rouge;  Dr. Craig L. Coe, resident from 1980-1983 and a retired internist in Dothan; Dr. Lisa Laycock Willett, Chief Medical Resident in 2000 and now Director of the Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency Program; and Dr. Mallika Mundkur, one of four current Chief Medical Residents.

The dinner – prepared and served by Dr. Karam, Dr. Coe and Dr. Willett -- was made possible through the newly established Legacy Fund, initiated by Dr. Karam and Dr. Coe and supported by graduates from the intern class of 1980-81. The Legacy Dinner will be held annually for residents beginning their final year of training, with a goal of positively impacting their training time as senior residents who are now leaders in the program, and inspiring them to similarly influence the junior residents, interns, and students they will supervise.

The goal of The Legacy Dinner is to create a foundation for the residents in the principles Dr. Harrison called his trainees to embrace: thinking, listening, and understanding; humor and analogy; moral and mental discipline. It was the opinion of those organizing the Legacy Dinner that awareness through stories of the many fine traditions and philosophies of UAB’s internal medicine residency would be an important contributor to this goal. In today’s complex world of medical training, we recognize that Dr. Harrison’s legacy, and the values he instilled at our institution, should never be forgotten.