Saint René Goupil, Surgeon
Saint René Goupil is the patron of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. Given his training as a surgeon and his efforts to relieve the suffering of others, he makes an excellent patron for physicians also. Goupil worked at the Hôtel Dieu Hospital in Sillery, near Quebec City, which combated the Indians' practice of euthanasia by providing palliative care. There, as well as in his captivity, he epitomized a Catholic medical practice which shows concern for the soul as well as the body. Finally, Goupil bore heroic witness to the dignity of all human persons when he offered medical treatment even to one of his Mohawk torturers.