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| John Wood, 1825-1891 Giving a Lecture |
Recently, I stumbled across an 1864 article from the
British Medical Journal by Dr. P. M.
Latham called
“A Word or Two on Medical Education: And a Hint or Two for those who Think it Needs Reforming.” I was
curious to see how much medical education had changed in 150 years. The answer:
not as much as you would think. We no longer try to cure pneumonia by bleeding
or brandy (Latham, 1864, p. 143)—thank goodness for antibiotics!—but many
educational methods are still startlingly similar.
What has changed:
An increased emphasis on clinical education. Dr. Latham recounts
how two graduating, award-winning medical students approached him and asked how
they could learn their profession. “During three whole years they had been hard
at work upon all that lectures and museums could teach them. […] But they had
utterly neglected the wards of the hospital. This was their own honest confession
and regret” (1864, p. 141). Fortunately, clinical competence is now a key part
of the curriculum.
No prizes for going to class. It seems there used to be a
broader range of class choices and incentives. Dr. Latham lists a wide range of
scientific topics and notes, “On most of these subjects, it is not thought
enough to specify the number of lectures to be attended: prizes are given
annually to stimulate competition, and are given to the most proficient in all
of them” (1864, p. 142). For better or worse, the curriculum is now more
structured, and awards are fewer and farther between.
What hasn’t changed:
Lecture format. Today’s students may laugh at old medical
universities, with “the ruinous amount of taxation they levied upon the time
and thought of medical students, with their hundreds and hundreds of lectures
sentenced and inflicted upon them without mercy” (Latham, 1864, p. 141). But it
is a bitter laugh.
Overwhelming amount of information. No one ever said medical
school would be easy, with “lectures on Anatomy, not by few, but by hundreds;
lectures on the Principles and Practice of Medicine … Principles and Practice
of Surgery … Forensic Medicine, including Toxicology and Toxicological Analysis
… Materia Medica … Chemistry … Botany … Physiology …” (Latham, 1864, 142). To
say nothing, of course, of interprofessional education.
Theory before practice. Latham argues that, just as people do
not learn to read by learning the philosophy and history of reading, medical
students should learn the practical aspects of their calling before hearing lectures, so they can
“exercise some judgment upon the subject matter” (1864, 143). Even now, this
notion sounds radical. What would happen if this suggestion were taken?
Students would almost certainly make more mistakes… and maybe learn from them.
What aspects of medical education do you think should
change? Put in your “word or two” in the comment box.
~Kelli Hines, MLIS
Scholarly Communication Librarian
Picture - John Wood FCRS 1825-1891 Giving a lecture, Oil Painting by Henry J. Brooks 1888 - Wellcome Library, London
Share the magic with the family! On Saturday, March 29, 2014 from 1pm to 4 pm the Pumerantz Library staff will be celebrating Harry Potter's world with a special family fun day.
1-888-704-1660. Harry Potter's World exhibit is brought provided by the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health - Curated by Elizabeth J. Bland.
