John E. Steinhaus, M.D.*

1970
John E. Steinhaus, M.D.*

JOHN E. STEINHAUS, M.D.

On the eve of a new decade in pursuit of the goals and continuing programs of the American
Society of Anesthesiologists, the direction and inspiration in 1970 will be provided by John E.
Steinhaus, M.D. of Atlanta.

Dr. Steinhaus was installed as 1970 ASA President at the final session of the House of Delegates,
Wednesday, October 29, at the San Francisco Hilton, during the Society’s Annual Meeting.

Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at Emory University, Atlanta, a
post he has held since 1959, Dr. Steinhaus served as First Vice President of the Society in 1967.
During his term of office he spent three weeks in Saigon, South Vietnam, as a consultant to the
Faculty of Medicine. He went there at the invitation of the American Medical Association to
participate in the special program established by the Faculty of Medicine, AMA and the Agency
for International Development. The purpose of the program was to help the Vietnamese
strengthen their medical education by improving their teaching methods.

A native of Nebraska, Dr. Steinhaus is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Nebraska,
where he obtained a B.A. and a Master’s degree in bacteriology. He then entered the Medical
School at the University of Wisconsin, receiving his M.D. in 1945. He interned at General
Hospital, Cincinnati, from 1945 to 1946, and then served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps until
1948. On discharge from the Army, Dr. Steinhaus undertook a post-doctorate fellowship in
pharmacology at the University of Wisconsin and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1950.

His first university appointment was at Marquette University School of Medicine, where he
served as Assistant Professor of Pharmacology from 1950-51. He then accepted an appointment
as Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Wisconsin.

His interest in anesthesiology led to a residency at University Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin, in
1953. On completion of his residency he was appointed Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at
the University of Wisconsin Medical School.

In 1958, Dr. Steinhaus accepted an appointment as Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at
Emory University School of Medicine. The following year he became Professor and Chairman of
the Department and Chief of Anesthesiology at Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta.
Since his move to Atlanta, Dr. Steinhaus has served as President of the Southern, Georgia, and
Greater Atlanta Societies of Anesthesiologists.

At the same time he has taken an active role in national affairs affecting the specialty. In 1963 he
served as a member of the ASA Anesthesia Survey Committee. One of the results of this survey
was a renewed emphasis on the role anesthesiologists should play in medical education. He has
also served as a member of the House of Delegates, Director from District VIII, and as a member
of the Board of Governors of the American College of Anesthesiologists.

A frequent contributor to leading scientific journals, Dr. Steinhaus has authored or co-authored
more than 40 scientific papers on the specialty.

A Diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology and a Fellow of the American College of
Anesthesiologists, Dr. Steinhaus is a member of the American Association of University
Anesthetists, the International Anesthesia Research Society, the American Society of
Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and the American Medical Association.

ASA Newsletter. 1969;33(11).