From the GH Sergievsky Center, the Department of Neurology, and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Neurology. 2014 Jul 22;83(4):359-63. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000000625. Epub 2014 Jun 18.
To review membership application materials (especially rejected applications) to the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) during its formative years (1947-1953).
Detailed study of materials in the AAN Historical Collection.
The author identified 73 rejected applications. Rejected applicants (71 male, 2 female) lived in 25 states. The largest number was for the Associate membership category (49). These were individuals "in related fields who have made and are making contributions to the field of neurology." By contrast, few applicants to Active membership or Fellowship status were rejected. The largest numbers of rejectees were neuropsychiatrists (19), neurosurgeons (16), and psychiatrists (14).
The AAN, established in the late 1940s, was a small and politically vulnerable organization. A defining feature of the fledgling society was its inclusiveness; its membership was less restrictive than that of the older American Neurological Association. At the same time, the society needed to preserve its core as a neurologic society rather than one of psychiatry or neurosurgery. Hence, the balance between inclusiveness and exclusive identity was a difficult one to maintain. The Associate membership category, more than any other, was at the heart of this issue of self-definition. Associate members were largely practitioners of psychiatry or neurosurgery. Their membership was a source of consternation and was to be carefully been held in check during these critical formative years.
回顾美国神经病学学会（AAN）成立初期（1947-1953 年）的会员申请材料（尤其是被拒绝的申请）。
详细研究 AAN 历史收藏中的材料。
作者共发现 73 份被拒绝的申请。被拒绝的申请人（71 名男性，2 名女性）居住在 25 个州。申请人数最多的是准会员类别（49 人）。这些人是“在相关领域做出贡献并正在为神经病学领域做出贡献的人”。相比之下，很少有积极会员或研究员身份的申请人被拒绝。被拒绝人数最多的是神经精神科医生（19 人）、神经外科医生（16 人）和精神科医生（14 人）。
AAN 成立于 20 世纪 40 年代末，是一个规模较小且政治上脆弱的组织。这个新兴组织的一个显著特点是包容性强；其会员资格比历史更悠久的美国神经病学协会限制更少。同时，该协会需要维护其作为神经病学协会的核心地位，而不是精神病学或神经外科学会。因此，包容性和排他性身份之间的平衡是一个难以维持的问题。准会员类别比其他任何类别都更能体现自我定义的问题。准会员主要是精神病学或神经外科学的从业者。他们的会员资格是令人担忧的根源，并在这些关键的形成时期受到严格控制。
