Man is fashioned, not born: the contributions of George J. Heuer to surgical education.

George Heuer undertook his medical education and residency training in surgery at Johns Hopkins. He then joined the surgical faculty under Halsted. He became Chair of Surgery at the University of Cincinnati in 1922, where he developed the second formal surgical training program modeled on Halsted's principles. Subsequently, he became Chair of Surgery at Cornell where he founded another surgical residency. His training programs stressed broad and thorough experience, and he championed increasing resident responsibility and independence. The demonstrated efficacy of his surgical residencies assisted greatly in the formation of subsequent resident training programs across this country.