George Kaplan, MD – Awarded Distinguished Member for 2017

Dr. Kaplan will be honored at the Members Business in Vancouver on Wednesday, August 9. His outstanding dedication and contributions to Urology make him a worthy choice. Below is a brief biography of his accomplishments.

Dr. Kaplan is a native Texan, born in Brownsville. During WWII he attended 11 elementary schools in 10 cities as his father was serving as a flight surgeon in the US Army Air Corps. After the war his family settled in Beaumont, TX where he completed high school. He received a BA from the University of Texas and an MD from Northwestern University Medical School. Following a rotating internship at Charity Hospital of Louisiana at New Orleans he entered the US Navy as a general medical officer serving 1 year of sea duty in the Pacific and 2 years at the Naval Training Center San Diego. This was followed by Urology residency at Northwestern University under John Grayhack during which he had an NIH post-doctoral fellowship and earned an MS in Urology. His first job after residency was as Acting Chief of Urology at the Children's Memorial Hospital, in Chicago. He then relocated to San Diego and entered solo private practice in 1969. In 1971 he limited his practice to pediatric urology, the first urologist west of the Mississippi to do so. He was appointed to the UCSD faculty in 1971, was Acting Chief of Urology in 1975-1976, Chief of Pediatric Urology 1972-1997, and currently Distinguished Professor of Clinical Surgery Emeritus, having participated in the education of over 150 residents between UCSD and the Navy Medical Center San Diego. A fellowship in pediatric urology was established in 1987, accredited by the ACGME and provided further education for 25 fellows, 60% of who are involved academically.

Dr. Kaplan has authored over 175 peer reviewed papers, 90 textbook chapters, and 1 textbook. He is a member of the AUA, WSAUA, International Society of Urology, American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He has been a visiting Professor at a number of institutions both in the United States and abroad and served on the Examination Committee of the AUA and was a Trustee of the American Board of Urology, serving as its delegate to the American Board of Medical Specialties. He was the Chair of the Pediatric Health Council of the American Foundation of Urologic Disease and served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Urology and Urology (the gold Journal). Locally, he was Chief of Urology, Chief of Surgery, Chief of Staff, and a Trustee of Children's Hospital San Diego (now Rady Children's Hospital San Diego). He has been president of the local chapter of the American College of Surgeons, the Society for Pediatric Urology, The Section on Urology of the American Academy of Pediatrics, San Diego Urologic Society, as well as an honorary member of the Southeastern Section of the AUA and the Society of Government Urologic Surgeons. He was recently awarded the Pediatric Urology Medal by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Stevenson Award by the Society of Government Urologic Surgeons, and the MacLaggen award by the Rotary club.