Biography or History

Robert Cushing Derbyshire (1910-1987) was born in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York on November 25, 1910. After graduating with a B.S. from Hampden-Sydney College in 1931, Derbyshire attended Johns Hopkins University and received his M.D. degree in 1936. After working one year as an Assistant Resident of Surgery at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Derbyshire accepted a Fellow in Surgery position at the Mayo Clinic. He remained at the Mayo Clinic until 1941, when he left to become part of the surgical staff at Martin Memorial Hospital in North Carolina. In 1942, Dr. Derbyshire was offered a position at Lovelace Clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Due in part to his contraction of tuberculosis, Dr. Derbyshire left North Carolina for Lovelace Clinic. He remained at the Lovelace Clinic until 1948 when he opened a private practice focused on general surgery in Artesia, New Mexico (1948-1950), and later relocated his practice to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he remained until his retirement from active practice in 1975.

Dr. Derbyshire was an influential and controversial figure in the medical field, both regionally and nationally. He served as Secretary of the New Mexico Board of Medical Examiners (1952 to 1985), President of the New Mexico Medical Society (1962-1963) and as editor of the Federation Bulletin. Dr. Derbyshire was an active advocate of continuing medical education and was considered an expert on medical licensure and discipline. In 1969 he wrote a book on the topics entitled, Medical Licensure and Discipline in the United States. Although the subjects often earned Dr. Derbyshire public booing and "rotten tomatoes," his lobbying on behalf of licensure and discipline brought national recognition to the problems and contributed to the implementation of new rules and regulations for practicing physicians. He served as a member in numerous professional organizations including the Santa Fe County Medical Society, Alpha Omega Alpha, the Federation Licensing Examination Committee and the National Board of Medical Examiners. Dr. Derbyshire remained active in the medical community until his death on July 24, 1987.

Scope and Content

This interview with Dr. Robert C. Derbyshire (1910-1987) summarizes his 45 year career in New Mexico. A Mayo-trained general surgeon, Dr. Derbyshire came to New Mexico in 1942 and practiced his specialty for 33 years in Albuquerque, Artesia and Santa Fe, successively. He filled many positions of prominence within the state's physician community, among them the presidency of the New Mexico Medical Society and Executive Secretary of the New Mexico Board of Medical Examiners for more than 30 years, and was a nationally prominent authority on the subjects of physician licensure, discipline, and continuing education. Among the subjects discussed in this interview are Dr. Derbyshire's professional background; his surgical practice in New Mexico; the Lovelace Clinic in the 1940s; organized medicine in the state, including the work of the New Mexico Medical Society and the New Mexico Board of Medical Examiners; New Mexico's impaired physicians' legislation, continuing education requirements, and other medico-legal matters. Other materials included in the collection are ninety-six professional articles authored by Dr. Derbyshire and sections from three unfinished works on medical ethics written between 1960 and 1988. Also included is the 1978 reprint of the book, Medical Licensure and Discipline in the United States, written by Dr. Derbyshire and three incomplete book manuscripts. Memorial articles, photographs and articles written on the topic of Dr. Derbyshire are as included.

Series I. Oral History, 1983: This series contains the final transcript of the oral history, and two audio tapes.

Series II. Memorials, 1987: This series contains various memorial articles and newspaper clippings.

Series III. Miscellaneous articles and photographs, 1962-1985:This series contains articles about Dr. Derbyshire and photos.

Series IV. Papers, 1973, 1983:This series contains copies of two articles by Dr. Derbyshire.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is available for research and open to the public.

Copy Restrictions

Limited duplication of print materials allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Preferred Citation

Robert Cushing Derbyshire Oral History Collection, New Mexico Health Historical Collection, UNM Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center.

Processing Information

These materials originally were organized and cataloged in 1983 by Janet Johnson. Peggy McBride reprocessed in 2005.

Separated Material

Original audio recordings are stored in the Special Collections Annex.

Related Archival Material

Robert Cushing Derbyshire Papers, 1934-1987. HHC 67. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

For the Soul is Dead That Slumbers: The Adventures of a Surgeon and His Family in New Mexico (1946-1996), a Memoir, by Samuel R. Ziegler and Isabel H. Ziegler. WZ 70 Z66 1999 NM/SW. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

I. J. Marshall, M.D. [graphic]. PH 119. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

C. Pardue Bunch Oral History. HHC 54.FL1280. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

Clinton Wilkins Morgan, Jr. Oral History. HHC 69.FL1279. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

Donald E. Kilgore, Jr. Oral History Collection. HHC 60.FL899. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

Earl L. Malone Oral History. HHC 70.FL1060. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

Emmit M. Jennings Oral History. HHC 71.FL857. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

Harry D. Ellis Oral History. HHC 72.FL952. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

JoAnn N. Levitt Oral History. HHC 73.FL858. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

William D. Sedgwick Oral History. HHC 74.FL1067. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

William H. Stennis Oral History. HHC 75.FL1265. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

Walter A. Stark Oral History. HHC 76.FL1262. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

New Mexico Medical Society Presidents 1949-1969 [graphic]. PH 056. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

New Mexico physicians, licensed 1940 to date [graphic]. PH 107. New Mexico Health Historical Collection.

Access Terms:

Artesia (N.M.).

Bruns General Hospital (Santa Fe, N.M.).

Derbyshire, Robert Cushing, 1910-1987.

Education, Medical, Continuing.

Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States.

Licensure, Medical—United States.

Lovelace Medical Center (Albuquerque, N.M.).

Lovelace, William Randolph, II., 1883-1968.

Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN).

McKinnon, D. Angus, 1908–1992.

New Mexico Board of Medical Examiners.

New Mexico Medical Society.

New Mexico Medical Society. Legislative Committee.

Olch, Peter D., 1930-1991.

Oral History.

Physician Impairment.

Physicians—New Mexico.

Santa Fe (N.M.).

Spidle, Jake W., 1941-.

Surgery—New Mexico.

Contents List

I. Oral History, 1983 

II. Memorials, 1987 

III. Miscellaneous, 1962-1985 

IV. Papers, 1973, 1983