Ronald Coy Jones, MD: a conversation with the editor

Ronald C. Jones, MD, and William C. Roberts, MD

From the Department of Surgery (Jones) and the Baylor Heart and Vascular Center (Roberts), Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.

Corresponding author: Ronald C. Jones, MD, Department of Surgery, Baylor University Medical Center, 3500 Gaston Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75246 (e-mail: rc.jones@baylorhealth.com).

Ron Jones was born in Harrison, Arkansas, on August 24, 1932, and spent most of his early years there. He attended the University of Arkansas for 3 years and then entered the University of Arkansas School of Medicine, where he spent 2 years before transferring to the University of Tennessee School of Medicine. He completed a rotating internship at the Los Angeles County General Hospital. In July 1958, he began a general practice residency at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center in Oklahoma City. During that training, he became interested in surgery and did his general surgery residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas from 1960 to 1964. Thereafter, he remained on the surgical faculty of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and rapidly rose in rank to full professor within 10 years (1974). From 1974 to 1976 he was acting chairman of the Department of Surgery at Southwestern. In July 1987, he moved to Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) as chairman of the Department of Surgery and has remained in that position since.

Ron Jones has contributed continuously since 1964 to our fund of medical knowledge. His interests have been relatively broad but have focused especially on trauma, particularly that affecting the pancreas, and on surgical infections and oncology. He was the major player in establishing a modern citywide ambulance service in Dallas. His work with the American College of Surgeons in establishing standards for cancer therapy throughout the USA has brought him wide recognition. He has been a sought-after speaker, both nationally and internationally.

For his work he has received a number of awards, including ones from the mayor of Dallas (for his work involving emergency medical services), from the American College of Surgeons and the American Cancer Society (for his work on setting standards for cancer therapy throughout the USA), and from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine as Outstanding Alumnus (1996). During his chairmanship of the Department of Surgery at BUMC, Dr. Jones has expanded the residency program and made it one of the very best in the USA. His modest demeanor and his loyalty to and vigorous support of his colleagues, institutions, and family make him a leader in American medicine and the community. He also is a warm and delightful person to be around. (BUMC Proceedings 2002;15:38-58)