The Rock of Gibraltar: The Value of Mentorship in the Early Years (Dr. Virginia Apgar and Dr. Ralph Waters)

Behind every successful physician there are mentors to light the path. Ralph Waters, founder of the anesthesiology residency at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, was an instrumental part of Virginia Apgar's success; his support of her education and promotion of her professional endeavors proved to shape the medical powerhouse that Apgar would become. In this article, we learn about the professional and personal relationship between Waters and Apgar through personal correspondence from the Ralph Waters Collection at University of Wisconsin Archives, scientific publications, and meeting records. Through his support of her career, she was able to achieve success despite the Great Depression, World War II, and the novelty of being a woman in medicine. In her career, Apgar became the first female full professor at Columbia University, designed and implemented the Apgar score, and led the Division of Congenital Malformations at the March of Dimes among many other accomplishments. Though they lived half of a country apart in Wisconsin and in New York, the mentor and mentee bridged the gap in geography through regular correspondence, American Society of Anesthetists (now American Society of Anesthesiologists) meetings (where Waters served as president and Apgar as treasurer), and exchange of trainees between the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Columbia University. Apgar revealed herself to be a persistent, hardworking, intelligent, and passionate academic physician – the perfect pupil for Waters. This article's aim is to underscore the importance of mentorship – with equal commitment to the relationship from mentor and mentee – then and now.