The Story of Kenneth W. Randall, M.D.

In 1911, while walking in the country with his wife Martha, young surgeon Kenneth Randall praises her for her willingness to marry him before he has become a success. That night, Kenneth is summoned to treat a workman who has been injured at a nearby mill. When Kenneth arrives, he discovers the men using chewing tobacco to disinfect the wounds. The following day, John Randall, Kenneth's physician father and partner, compliments his son on his surgical repairs, and Kenneth expresses his belief that preventing mill accidents should be part of his job as a doctor. Later, in his office, Kenneth chastises the worker for failing to have his wound dressed every day, and when the man replies that he does not have time to visit the doctor, Kenneth decides to come to the mill during the lunch break. At the mill, the men line up to see Kenneth, who suggests that they set up an area for first aid. Three weeks later, John reads in a newspaper that a worker is suing his employers based on Kenneth's diagnosis and warns his son that this will cause trouble in their practice. That night, Kenneth tells Martha his dream of contributing to human progress by practicing industrial medicine, and she vows to support him. Kenneth meets with Sidney Duncan, the owner of a manufacturing plant, and Sam Gregg, his general manager, and proposes a visit to the plant at a given time each day. Among the preventive measures he submits are a complete physical for each employee and the establishment of a permanent first aid station. Although they consider Kenneth's plan too ambitious, the men agree to implement part of it. John, however, completely disapproves of the plan and warns Kenneth that he cannot serve both his well-paying patients and the factory workers. He also points out that the workers' own doctors will assume that Kenneth is trying to steal their patients. When Kenneth refuses to change his mind, John demands that he leave their joint practice. At the plant, Kenneth encounters resistance from both the employees and the foremen and, as John predicted, the workers' doctors shun him. After a while, however, the situation improves. After Kenneth returns from serving in World War I, Duncan reveals that the war made him realize the value of industrial medicine, and he now decides to concentrate on industrial hygiene. Fourteen years later, Kenneth and his father are still estranged, but Martha reports to John on Kenneth's progress: Soon after Kenneth returns from the war, he examines a young veteran, who is unable to get a job because of war injuries. Kenneth then vows to work on the rehabilitation of returning veterans. Kenneth is offered a position with a big automobile manufacturer and in 1942, learns that his work made the plant well-prepared to keep its workers healthy and meet the need for war materiel. Thanks to his efforts, the plant now has many examination, treatment and surgical rooms and filing systems, and more preventive and safety measures have been enacted. In 1943, during the annual dinner of Industrial Physicians and Surgeons, Kenneth's program of veteran rehabilitation is given an award for outstanding contribution to industrial medicine. Sergeant Harry Brown describes his rehabilitation, which includes matching him with a job that suits him and ongoing monitoring of his health. Kenneth receives an enthusiastic round of applause from the attending physicians, including a proud John, and then pays tribute to Martha for her unfailing support.