FALL 2020 Italian American Digest PAGE 6
Remembering Dr. John Adriani, the
father of anesthesiology
John Adriani is considered by
many to be the father of modern
anesthesiology. The Director
of Anesthesiology at Charity
Hospital in New Orleans and
president of the American Board
of Anesthesiology
(ABA,) Dr.
Adriani brought
anesthesiology into
the 20th century.
Born to Italian
immigrants in
Bridgeport,
Connecticut in
1907, Adriani
was the oldest of
nine children. He
graduated from
Columbia University
and received his
medical degree from
the
Columbia
University College
of Physicians and
Surgeons. As a
medical student,
Adriani was troubled
that there was only
one anesthesia
related lecture in the
curriculum. The
subsequent death of
one of his patients
from an anesthesia
related complication
led him to choose
anesthesiology as a
career path.
He further studied
anesthesiology at Bellevue Hospital
and NYU Medical Center under
anesthesiologist Emery Andrew
Rovenstine. After his training with
Rovenstine, Adriani became a
member of his staff as an instructor.
In 1941, Adriani became director
of anesthesiology at the newly
constructed Charity Hospital.
Adriani was concerned that the
anesthesia services staff were
disorganized and poorly trained.
Dr. John Adriani (1907 - 1988) served as
director of Charity Hospital
Adriani worked with physicians
and nurses, lecturing to them on
anesthesia-related topics. The result
was that Charity developed an
anesthesia residency program for
physicians as well as an accredited
school of nurse anesthesia. In
addition to his anesthesia work, he
established Charity's blood bank
and bone bank, and he directed the
hospital's inhalation therapists.
At the time, the ABA was
opposed to physicians assisting in
the training of nurse anesthetists.
The ABA went
further, saying that
they prohibited
anesthesiologists from
lecturing at meetings
of nurse anesthetists
and threatening to cancel
the board certifications
of anesthesiologists who
participated in
such training. Adriani
resisted, feeling that
nurse anesthetists
benefitted from doctors’
input, making for safer
practices. He also told
the ABA that he would
bring a case in federal
court if they revoked his
certification. Adriani
continued to assist in the
trainings, and the ABA
eventually relented then
officially dropped the
policy in 1965.
This change of
direction was informally
known as the Adriani
rule. Adriani eventually
served as ABA president.
While Adriani was at
Charity, he served on
the faculty at the Tulane
University School of Medicine and
the LSU School of Medicine.
In the late 1960s, Adriani briefly
served as head of the Bureau of
Medicine at the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). Adriani
officially retired in 1974. He died in
1988.