Interview with Thomas Kottke

Abstract

Thomas Kottke begins by discussing his background, including his education and why he became a physician. He discusses his time as a medical student at the University of Minnesota; going to McGill University for his residency; some of his experiences as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and getting the Preventive Cardiology Academic Award and his work on tobacco control and smoking. He described his impressions of the new Medical School curriculum as a student, his experience at a Sexual Attitude Reassessment Seminar, his experiences on the Council of Deans and Directors as a student representative, the perceived shortage of doctors in the 1960s, the relationship between the Medical School and the Mayo Clinic, and the reorganization of the health sciences in 1970. He discusses the Council for Health Interdisciplinary Participation (CHIP), family medicine, the recruitment of minority students, women students, and the affiliated hospitals. He discusses his father, Frederick Kottke, and his father’s connections with Democratic Congressional members, including Hubert Humphrey.