[3] During his early career, he reported on immigrants' usage of ergot fungi to stimulate uterine contractions during childbirth, leading to widespread adoption of the practice.
In his conclusion, Stearns also reported on the society's support of the US Pharmacopeia, which was founded that year to provide a compendium of all drugs being used in American medicine and standards to confirm their purity.
[4] Stearns' epidemiological studies of 1819-1822 yellow fever epidemic highlighted that New York City's poorest residents were being exposed to unsanitary conditions that allowed the disease to spread, threatening the overall population.
[3] His 1847 opening address as president of the newly created organization focused on combating quackery in the US healthcare system, such as the increasingly popular pseudoscience of homeopathy, founded by Samuel Hahnemann in 1807.
[5] Since 1992, the New York Academy of Medicine has annually awarded the John Stearns Medal for Distinguished Contributions in Clinical Practice in recognition of his service.