Lonnie R. Bristow

Lonnie Robert Bristow
Born	1930
Medical career
Field	Internal medicine
Sub-specialties	Occupational medicine

Lonnie Robert Bristow (born 1930) is an American internist and former president of the American Medical Association.

Early life and education

Lonnie Bristow was born in 1930 in Harlem, New York City. His father, Lonnie Harlis Bristow, was a Baptist minister, and his mother, Vivian Wines Bristow, was a nurse at Sydenham Hospital. He was inspired by visits to his mother at her workplace to enter the medical profession. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, for two years, followed by a four years of enrollment in the United States Navy before returning to his studies. He graduated from the City College of New York with a bachelor's degree in 1953 and received his medical degree from the New York University Grossman School of Medicine in 1957.

Career

Bristow interned in 1958 at the San Francisco City and County Hospital. In 1964, he established a private practice in San Pablo, California, as an internist with a special interest in occupational medicine. He joined the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1970 and rose through its ranks as a delegate and board member until he was elected as president of the organization for a 1995–1996 term. This made him the first black president of the AMA, which at the time was 147 years old. As AMA president, he spearheaded the introduction of questions on medical ethics into medical board exams and encouraged education about HIV/AIDS.

Bristow was the first black president of the American Society of Internal Medicine, elected in 1981. He has consulted on numerous health issues in different organizations, including serving on advisory committees for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on smoking (1987–1994) and HIV infection (1989–1993). He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 1977 and has received honorary doctorate degrees from Morehouse College (1994), Wayne State University (1995) and the City College of New York (1995). He co-authored In the Nation's Compelling Interest; Ensuring Diversity in the Health-Care Workforce, published in 2004.

Personal life and family

Bristow was married to Margaret Jeter from 1957 to 1961 and remarried to Marilyn Hingslage in 1961. He has three children. His son, Robert Bristow, is an obstetrician-gynecologist.

Selected publications

• Bristow, Lonnie R. (June 1979). "Medical ethics: quo vadis?". The Bulletin of the American College of Physicians. 2 (6): 417–418. ISSN 0002-8010. PMID 11662592.
• Bristow, Lonnie R. (1 June 2003). "Diversity and the road to the "land of best care"". The virtual mentor: VM. 5 (6): virtualmentor.2003.5.6.pfor1–0306. doi:10.1001/virtualmentor.2003.5.6.pfor1-0306. ISSN 1937-7010. PMID 23268950.
• Smedley, BD; Stith Butler, A; Bristow, LR (2004). Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Institutional and Policy-Level Strategies for Increasing the Diversity of the U.S. Healthcare Workforce. National Academies Press (US). doi:10.17226/10885. PMID 25009857.