Selective Service's Call for Doctors Reaches Into Harvard Med School

All Medical School doctors under 35 who have not yet fulfilled their military obligation are being reclassified 1-A and asked to report for a pre-induction physical examination, Colonel Paul F. Feeney, deputy director of the Massachusetts Selective Service System, said Friday.

Medical school officials say that at least one assistant resident has been drafted and that more will be needed to fill a nationwide call for 1,529 physicians. There are approximately 800 residents and fellows affiliated with the Medical School working in Boston area hospitals.

Dr. Joseph W. Gardella '41, associate dean of the Medical School, said yesterday that he didn't know what effect the call-up would have on teaching programs. But he said that draft boards are taking into consideration each doctor's teaching and research duties.

Pool Dried Up

According to Feeney, doctors have previously been taken after their first year of internship. "But this pool has dried up with increased calls," he said, "and we've had to start reclassifying all physicians who haven't served."

Feeney emphasized, however, that not all those reclassified will be called into active duty. "What we are doing "is screening those who are eligible. But there will be no snap judgments," he said.

A special advisory committee made up of members of the medical profession is aiding draft boards in selectng doctors for the draft, Feeney said. The cases of Massachusetts residents will be automatically reviewed by this committee, which will also make recommendations to out-of-state boards.