Interview with Irwin H. Sonne, April 4, 1977

Partial Transcript: The following is an unrehearsed interview with Dr. Irwin H. Sonne for the Alumni/Faculty Oral History Project of the University of Kentucky Library.

Segment Synopsis: Dr. Irwin Sonne is introduced. He talks about his educational background and career path. He talks about attending the Louisville College of Pharmacy before enrolling in the University of Louisville Medical School. He talks about serving in the Army during both World War I and World War II. He talks about his experiences at the Louisville College of Pharmacy, including his internships, professors, and classmates.

Keywords: Apprenticeships; Class size; Classmates; College classes; Discharged; Drugstores; England; France; Jobs; Louisville College of Pharmacy; Louisville Manual Training School; Professors; Quality; Social clubs; Two-year programs; Women; World War I; World War II

Subjects: College choice; College environment; College students--Conduct of life.; College students--Employment.; College teachers--Rating of.; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Educators; Louisville (Ky.); Medical education; United States. Army.; Universities and colleges--Admission; Universities and colleges--Entrance requirements.; Universities and colleges--Faculty.; University of Louisville; World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: Well when did you decide then to, uh, go on to medical school?

Segment Synopsis: Sonne talks about his decision to attend the University of Louisville Medical School. He discusses his professors, classmates, and classes. He talks about how the quality of education for doctors has changed over the years.

Keywords: Class size; Competition; Coursework; Differences; Difficulty; Doctors; Exams; Mentors; Merging; Pharmacists; Professors; Quality of education; Tests; University of Louisville Medical School

Subjects: College environment; College students--Conduct of life.; College teachers, Part-time; College teachers--Rating of.; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Educators; Medical education; Universities and colleges--Admission; Universities and colleges--Entrance requirements.; Universities and colleges--Faculty.; Universities and colleges--Mergers; University of Louisville

Partial Transcript: Um, after you finished the four years of coursework then what was your next step?

Segment Synopsis: Sonne describes his career path after graduating from University of Louisville Medical School. He talks about his internships, working in Indiana and Louisville, beginning his own general practice, and his experiences with the army.

Keywords: Army Reserves; Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.); Corydon (Ind.); Doctors offices; First lieutenants; Fort Knox (Ky.); General practice; General practitioners; Indianapolis (Ind.); Internships; Local doctors; Louisville (Ky.); Medical instructors; New York; Patients; Referrals; University of Louisville Hospital; World War I; World War II

Subjects: Medical care; Medicine, Rural; Physicians; United States. Army.; World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: What's the most striking changes you've seen in the practice of medicine in Louisville over the years while you were practicing?

Segment Synopsis: Sonne discusses the changes that have occurred within the medical profession since his career began. He talks about changing modes of transportation, the diseases he once treated, making house calls, and accepting goods instead of money for his services.

Keywords: Antibiotics; Bartering; Cars; Changes; Death; Distance; Epidemics; Home visits; Horseback; House calls; Medicine; Meningitis; Money; Payments; Pharmacy; Polio; Renting horses; Sanitation; Trading; Treatments

Subjects: Corydon (Ind.); Harrison County (Ind.); Medical care; Medicine, Rural; Physicians

Partial Transcript: Now, uh, as a general practitioner, I guess is what you--

Segment Synopsis: Sonne describes the way he performed surgery in his own office and in the field when patients could not be transported to hospitals. He talks about setting fractures without the use of x-rays. He talks about delivering babies, and discusses whether he knew of the Frontier Nursing Service midwives who were also performing home births in the area. He talks about his sons' experiences in medical school.

Keywords: Doctors offices; Family; Fractures; Frontier Nursing Service (); Home births; Home visits; House calls; Husbands; Medical practice; Nurses; Obstetrics; Opinions; Records; School physicians; Sons; Surgeries; X-rays

Subjects: Corydon (Ind.); Frontier Nursing Service, Inc.; Harrison County (Ind.); Louisville (Ky.); Medical care; Medical education; Medicine, Rural; Physicians

Partial Transcript: Did you find that, uh, your training at the University of Louisville Medical School prepared you sufficiently in your medical practice?

Segment Synopsis: Sonne talks about whether his education at the University of Louisville Medical School prepared him for his career. He talks more about how the quality of education has changed over the years. He talks about the relationship between the University of Louisville Medical School and the Louisville College of Pharmacy, and discusses the merging of the five medical schools in Louisville.

Keywords: Cadavers; Consolidation; Cost; Interaction; Louisville College of Pharmacy; Medical tools; Medicine; Merging; Preparation; Prices; Quality of education; Requirements; Residency; Sons; Specialists; Training; Tuition; University of Louisville Medical School

Subjects: College costs.; College environment; College students--Attitudes.; College students--Conduct of life.; College students--Social conditions; Education, Higher--Kentucky; Medical care; Medical education; Physicians; Universities and colleges--Ratings and rankings.; University of Louisville

Partial Transcript: Are there any other incidents that happened to you while you were a doctor that really stand out, that you think would be rather interesting or unique experiences that happened to doctors?

Segment Synopsis: Sonne talks more about his experiences delivering babies and performing other medical treatments in the field. He talks more about his experiences in the Army and why he decided to enlist during World War I.

Keywords: 1st Kentucky Regiment; Army Reserves; Career; Cases; Children; Enlisting; Home visits; House calls; Labor; Mastoid; Obstetrics; Polio; Retirement; Territory; Treatments; Wife; World War I; World War II

Subjects: Corydon (Ind.); Harrison County (Ind.); Medical care; Medicine, Rural; Physicians; United States. Army.; World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: What was it like being a doctor in, in Louisville during the Depression years?

Segment Synopsis: Sonne discusses the effects of the Great Depression on Louisville and on his own medical practice. He talks about his father's grocery business and why he did not work there. He talks about the jobs he held prior to attending medical school, including a paper route and working at a drugstore.

Keywords: Drugstores; Farms; Fathers; Grandfathers; Income; J.P. Sonne and Sons Grocery; Louisville Manual Training School; Paper route; Payments; Wages; Working

Subjects: Depressions--1929.; Families.; Louisville (Ky.)--Buildings, structures, etc.; Medical care; Medicine, Rural; Physicians; Small business--Ownership

Partial Transcript: So you haven't saved any of your records, or any of your medical correspondence, or any of your materials from when you were in school?

Segment Synopsis: Sonne says that he no longer has the records from his time in medical school or his career in the medical field. The interviewer mentions the merger between the Louisville College of Pharmacy and the University of Kentucky. The interview is concluded.

Keywords: Louisville College of Pharmacy; Records; University of Kentucky School of Pharmacy