S.S. Yudin used part of his prize won in 1926 for his monograph on spinal anaesthesia, which was named the best medical book in the Soviet Union, to fund a six-month trip to the United States. During his stay, he visited the best surgical clinics, where he studied the organisation of medical care. He shared his impressions with colleagues in notes titled “A guest of American surgeons”, which were published in the journal New Surgical Archives. Yudin considered the general organisation of the work of doctors, and the scope and speed of work the most critical.