In the summer of 1945, Dr. Ian Rusted boarded the fabled SS Kyle for a journey along the Labrador coast.

At the time, he was still a student at Dalhousie University. The opportunity to work as the medical officer aboard the Kyle meant both an adventure and a chance to gain invaluable experience in the field.

But what he found in Labrador was that many of the communities he visited had not been served by a physician in years. He also encountered patients with tuberculosis and learned that the disease was considered a normal occurrence in some of these rural areas.

It was clear to Dr. Rusted that Newfoundland and Labrador needed more physicians, and he would go on to become a passionate advocate for the development of a medical school that could answer the call.

Born in Upper Island Cove in 1921, Dr. Rusted grew up in Carbonear. Even from an early age, he was inspired by the outport doctors who treated him when he was sick or injured, and he dreamt of becoming a physician.

True to his ambition, he went on to earn a pre-medical diploma from Memorial University College in 1940 and then made the move to study at the University of Toronto.

As the Second World War raged in Europe, he enlisted for service on five separate occasions. But no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to pass the military’s physical exam due to his eyesight. So he set back on his original path and focused on his studies.

He obtained a bachelor of arts degree from Toronto in 1943 and then pursued medical studies at Dalhousie, graduating in 1948.

He earned a master of science degree from McGill University in 1949 and undertook postgraduate medical work at the famous Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

In 1952, Dr. Rusted became the first Newfoundlander to pass Canada’s Royal College of Physicians’ fellowship examinations. And though McGill and the Mayo Clinic both offered him positions, his intention had always been to work in Newfoundland and Labrador.

 

Dr. Rusted became the first dean of medicine at Memorial in 1967. Photo from Memorial’s Digital Archives Initiative.

 

On his return home in 1952, he served as a medical consultant with the provincial Department of Health. He was named director of medical education at the General Hospital on Forest Road a year later and helped develop the hospital’s residency programs.

Dr. Rusted also made a point of visiting cottage hospitals around the province to consult with rural doctors, gathering input and support for a possible medical school at Memorial University.

In those days, Canada’s medical schools were located in large, resource-rich cities, and the thought of establishing such a school in St. John’s seemed like an uphill battle.

But Dr. Rusted remained undeterred. In 1966, after years of relentless advocacy, he was named director of postgraduate and medical education, and co-ordinator for planning the proposed medical school.

Against the odds, Memorial’s medical school became a reality in 1967 with Dr. Rusted named as the first dean of medicine.

Under his leadership, the faculty emphasized strong clinical skills and community-based learning, laying the foundation for a medical education system designed to answer the specific needs of the place it calls home.

By the time of Dr. Rusted’s death in 2007, Memorial’s Faculty of Medicine had graduated nearly 2,000 new doctors, many of whom went on to serve in both the rural and urban areas of the province.

Over the course of his esteemed career, Dr. Rusted received honorary degrees from Dalhousie, Mount Allison, the University of Toronto and Memorial. He was named an officer of the Order of Canada and was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.

Dr. Rusted recorded his first journey on the Kyle using an 8 mm camera. The video is available from Memorial’s Digital Archives Initiative.

In it there are images of the storied vessel, close encounters with icebergs, and stunning cliff faces along the coast. There are also images of Dr. Rusted, at the young age of 22, holding a husky puppy in his arms.

The video offers a glimpse into an age gone by. It also documents Dr. Rusted’s first experiences as a doctor and quite possibly the birth of his vision for Newfoundland and Labrador — a vision born of necessity and realized through determination, and one that would forever transform health care in the province.