Ober, K. Patrick 1949-

(Karl Patrick Ober)

PERSONAL: Born April 7, 1949, in Ames, IA; son of Jestin (a veterinarian) and Maridale (a homemaker) Ober; married Cathy Irene Collison (a homemaker), March 24, 1971; children: Christopher Patrick, Rebecca Irene. Ethnicity:“Caucasian (Western European).”Education: Michigan State University, B.S., 1970; University of Florida, M.D., 1974.

ADDRESSES: Home— Clemmons, NC. Office— School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Medical Center Blvd., Winston-Salem, NC 27157. E-mail— [email protected].

CAREER: Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, member of medical faculty, 1979—, associate dean for education.

MEMBER: American College of Physicians, Endocrine Society, American Diabetes Association.

WRITINGS

(Editor) Endocrinology of Critical Diseases, Humana Press (Totowa, NJ), 1997.

Mark Twain and Medicine: “Any Mummery Will Cure,” University of Missouri Press (Columbia, MO), 2003.

Contributor to medical journals. Past guest editor of periodicals published by Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America and Medical Clinics of North America.

SIDELIGHTS: K. Patrick Ober told CA:“I am particularly interested in the relationship between the humanities and the practice of medicine. One of my medical journal articles uses the lessons from the Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris to illustrate the dilemmas faced by modern-day doctors in solving difficult clinical problems. My area of greatest interest, however, stems from my lifelong passion with the writings of Mark Twain as the quintessential spokesman for all of humanity. My specific focus is on Twain’s medical experiences and writings, which continue to be as insightful and humorous as they were in the nineteenth century.”

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES

PERIODICALS

Choice, April, 2004, R. Nadelhaft, review of Mark Twain and Medicine: “Any Mummery Will Cure,” p. 1473.

New England Journal of Medicine, June 10, 2004, Stephanie Brown Clark, review of Mark Twain and Medicine, p. 2529.

Library Journal, February 1, 2004, A.J. Wright, review of Mark Twain and Medicine, p. 117.

Reference & Research Book News, February, 2004, review of Mark Twain and Medicine, p. 244.

SciTech Book News, September, 1997, review of Endocrinology of Critical Diseases, p. 80.