Ice Age. The medical practitioners of ancient
China developed acupuncture and a small-
pox vaccination method. Western medicine is
indebted to the "scientific" approach
developed in ancient Greece and Rome by men such
as Hippocrates and Galen. These
advances were preserved through the Dark Ages by
the Arab world. In medieval Europe
medical science stagnated until the rebirth of
learning and experimentation in the
Renaissance.
In the United States during the colonial era,
medicine was largely a hit-or-miss
affair. The pushing of the frontiers westward
developed a pioneer type of doctor. A step
forward was achieved in the last half of the
eighteenth century when medical schools in
the United States began conferring the MD
degree and it was no longer necessary to
journey abroad to obtain one. In 1910 the
Flexner report, Medical Education in the
United States and Canada, brought about a
revolution in medical education and placed it
on a sound basis by establishing standardized
requirements of medical education.
Flexner's basic recommendations included the
following:
1. Medical education should be conducted in the
context of a university. This
would help ensure that students would gain a
scientifically oriented foundation
for the practice of medicine.
2. Schools should be changed from a "diploma
mill" or trade school status to that
of providing a professional school
education.
3. The upgraded medical schools should be
provided with a full-time faculty,
because practicing physicians lacked time to
devote themselves adequately to
teaching.
Flexner's report resulted in a drastic
reduction in the number of then-existing med-
ical schools.
The impact of the Flexner report extended far
beyond improving the quality of med-
ical education. Ultimately it was responsible
for the preeminence in biomedical research
and the development of specialty medicine in
this country.
Well before the turn of this century, Americans
made major contributions to medical
science, especially in the battle against
infectious diseases. In the last half of the twenti-
eth century, American medicine has become a
world leader. Thus, to become a physi-
cian means entering a fellowship with a healing
tradition that extends back to the begin-
nings of civilization.
Major highlights in American medical education
are summarized below:
1765--University of Pennsylvania opens the
nation's first medical school.
1848--Elizabeth Blackwell is the first American
woman to receive a medical
degree.
1870--An estimated 15,000 Americans travel to
Germany and Austria over the
course of the next four decades for modern
medical education.
1893--Johns Hopkins University Medical School
opens and is the first to require a
baccalaureate degree for admission and four
years of study for a medical
degree.
1910--The Flexner report recommends closing
half of American medical schools.
1952--Case Western University introduces an
organ system-based curriculum.
1956--Federal Health Facilities Research Act
enhances research efforts in medical
schools.
1968--McMaster University of Canada introduces
problem-based learning.
1992--About 18% of U.S. physicians and 42% of
medical students are women.
--Number of students applying to medical
schools reaches an all-time high.
1993–1996--A record number of medical
school applicants during these years.
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