The Authorities
Dr. Taliaferro Clark Eunice RIvers Dr. John Heller Dr. Oliver Wenger Dr. Raymond Vonderlehr Dr. Eugene Dibble
Dr. Taliaferro Clark is cited with having started the Tuskegee experiment. He pushed for the continuation after the trial one year period. However, he retired one year after the study started. Dr. Eugene Dibble was the head of John Andrew Hospital, the hospital located at the Tuskegee Institute. Ge encouraged other physicians in the area, and for the men in the area, to participate and cooperate with the study. Dr. Oliver Wenger was the direct of the USPHS at the time, specifically the Venereal Disease Clinic. He was a huge supporter of the experiment, though not as hands on as the others. Dr. Vonderlehr was the on-site director of the study, chosen by Dr. Clark and Dr. Wenger. He was very hands on, conducting many of the physical exams, and eventually took over Dr. Clark's position. Dr. Heller was the assistant on-site for the study, and eventually took over Dr. Wenger's position.
However, the most interesting authority on the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment was Eunice Rivers. Rivers was highly educated for her time, having completed college and done extensive nurse training. She was nominated to be the main nurse for the experiment, considering she could relate better to the participants and she had been working at the Tuskegee Institute already. Rivers took a huge role in the lives of the study's participants. She not only assisted with their physical exams, but also offered them transportation to and from appointments, made house calls to see how they were feeling, made many comfortable with the idea of spinal taps, and got permission from the families to have the bodies for autopsies. Her awareness of the unethical procedures is still very ambiguous. She had extensive medical training, so she knew they were not receiving the appropriate treatment for syphilis. However, she did lend a caring hand and ear, always trying to give her patients exactly what they wanted. Further, she is credited with having the patients receive a little less mistreatment (if possible) at the hands of the authorities. She states, "Don't mistreat my patients...cause they don't have to come. And if you mistreat them, I will not let them come." Here, she really thought she was doing a good job at her role of nurse throughout the whole procedure; the men were not verbally disrespected under her watch. Many still question why she didn't do much else to change what was going on, except it's hard to dislike her because of the strong relationship she had. One survivor said, "she belongs to us," and they view her as one of their own.
For more on Eunice Rivers: http://academics.wellesley.edu/WomenSt/ResearchNurse.pdf
However, the most interesting authority on the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment was Eunice Rivers. Rivers was highly educated for her time, having completed college and done extensive nurse training. She was nominated to be the main nurse for the experiment, considering she could relate better to the participants and she had been working at the Tuskegee Institute already. Rivers took a huge role in the lives of the study's participants. She not only assisted with their physical exams, but also offered them transportation to and from appointments, made house calls to see how they were feeling, made many comfortable with the idea of spinal taps, and got permission from the families to have the bodies for autopsies. Her awareness of the unethical procedures is still very ambiguous. She had extensive medical training, so she knew they were not receiving the appropriate treatment for syphilis. However, she did lend a caring hand and ear, always trying to give her patients exactly what they wanted. Further, she is credited with having the patients receive a little less mistreatment (if possible) at the hands of the authorities. She states, "Don't mistreat my patients...cause they don't have to come. And if you mistreat them, I will not let them come." Here, she really thought she was doing a good job at her role of nurse throughout the whole procedure; the men were not verbally disrespected under her watch. Many still question why she didn't do much else to change what was going on, except it's hard to dislike her because of the strong relationship she had. One survivor said, "she belongs to us," and they view her as one of their own.
For more on Eunice Rivers: http://academics.wellesley.edu/WomenSt/ResearchNurse.pdf