W
ayne Bruce Tuckson, my only and younger
sibling, was born into a life of medicine.
Our father, the first person to graduate
from high school in his family, trained as a
dentist and became the Founding Chairman
of the Department of Oral Radiology at Howard University’s
College of Dentistry. Our mother, who trained as a nurse, met
our father while tending to him during his hospitalization for
an appendectomy. I trained as a General Internist. And, then of
course, there is Wayne’s lovely wife, Brenda, who also trained in
nursing and specialized in dialysis care. Health care is definitely
our family’s mission.
A young Dr. Tuckson with a
chemistry set that fostered his
interest in sciences.
Wayne was also born into the expectations that he would
live a life of service dedicated to issues larger than himself. His
formative years were framed within the context of life in segre-
gated Washington, D.C., with all of its attendant challenges for
African Americans. As a result, our parents, who were proud
and determined people, set high expectations for their children’s
expression of moral, intellectual and service character. Wayne’s
enthusiastic participation in the Cub Scouts, participation as
an altar boy for our Episcopalian Church, and commitment to
playing trumpet in the school band were all foundational in this
regard. Additionally, although Wayne was serious about Little
League athletics, he diligently prepared himself to become his
high school’s athletic trainer because he sensed that his future
mission was ultimately focused on medicine.
With his mother, a public health
nurse with the Visiting Nurses
Association in Washington DC.
Wayne’s medical school and residency training in surgery at
Howard University were characterized not only by his scholar-
ship, but also by the tutelage of his life-long mentor, the eminent
surgeon and national role model, LaSalle Leffall. Dr. Leffall not
only drilled into Wayne the transformative importance of always
exhibiting “equanimity under duress” in the operating room, but
also in the conduct of his personal life.
This guidance served Wayne well as he has taken on difficult
challenges and pursued them with dogged and high-minded de-
termination. I am proud that he accepted and excelled in meeting
the challenges and opportunities provided by an internship in
Obstetrics and Gynecology at the St. Louis University Hospital;
a residency in General Surgery at How ard University Hospital;
and a research and clinical fellowship in colon and rectal surgery
at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic Foundation. All of his family
were especially proud when, following in his father’s footsteps, he
returned to Howard as an assistant professor in the Department
of Surgery and as Chief of the Division of Colon and Rectal
Surgery. Wayne’s roots run deep and those roots are a defining
element of his character and his call to leadership.
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JUNE 2018
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