In this extensively researched history of medical schools, William Rothstein, a leading historian of American medicine, traces the formation of the medical school from its origin as a source of medical lectures to its current status as a center of undergraduate and graduate medical education, biomedical research, and specialized patient care. Using a variety of historical and sociological techniques, Rothstein accurately describes methods of medical education from one generation of doctors to the next, illustrating the changing career paths in medicine. At the same time, this study considers medical schools within the context of the state of medical practice, institutions of medical care, and general higher education. The most complete and thorough general history of medical education in the United States ever written, this work focuses both on the historical development of medical schools and their current status.
Industry Reviews
"Will undoubtedly become a classic in the histories of medicine and of education. It is extremely well written and a fascinating study that everyone in the history of science will want to read."--History: Reviews of New Books
"In addition to histories of education, of medicine, and of medical education, he has mastered an exhaustive array of published materials....His comprehensive presentation of the literature will be a boon to historians of education and medical education....This is a remarkable piece of work."--Journal of American History
"An enormously useful book....He presents an astonishing array of data."--Bulletin of the History of Medicine
"A comprehensive account...Rothstein draws upon an immense body of historical and sociological literature to produce a highly readable and provocative work that has much to offer both novices and experts in the history of American medical education."--CHOICE
"The growth of the American medical establishment to its present dominant position in research, education, and care makes a fascinating and critically important story, and this detailed and scholarly analysis is rich in history, lore, and data."--Science
"A fine new scholarly work that will be valuable for years to come."--Social Forces
"[An] excellent resource for those beginning the scholarly study of American medicine and its training....A rich and fascinating history of an important American institution."--Contemporary Sociology
"To a whole new audience, the large world of medical educators, this will prove to be a very useful compendium. It is a book that pulls together in one place an immense literature and presents it in a useful fashion. Rothstein has obviously read extremely widely, and he has a real facility for summarizing and distilling what he has read."--Gert H. Brieger, M.D., Johns Hopkins University
"The exhaustive research on medical history makes this a valuable purchase for all academic and medical library collections."--Library Journal
"Rothstein has assembled a wealth of material synthesized with considerable skill....An important book that should be read by those interested not only in the historical issues of medical education but in the present-day concerns facing medical schools."--Annals of Internal Medicine
"A study of scrupulous scholarship....Deserves the attention of all who have an interest in medical education and its history. It relies on the accurate use of statistics, provides careful analysis, and incorporates a goldmine of information on American medical care and education....A remarkable book....I have no hesitation in recommending it unreservedly." --British Medical Journal
"This book presents an intensely quantitative and highly informative history and analysis of American medical schools....Rothstein supports his assertions with data of most every sort. He cites surveys, studies, and statistics to characterize faculty, students, and practicing physicians of every period. He similarly evaluates hospitals, patients, diseases, and the efficacy of treatments of each era. Observations of historical participants add perspective to
the data, as do the author's own summaries and conclusions....It is a valuable contribution to our understanding of how American physicians are trained and how this system came to be."--Journal of the
American Medical Association
"An important book that assembles a rich farrago of information on the American medical school."--History of Education Quarterly
"Expertly traces the early development of medical schools in this country, focusing especially on medical practice in its societal context, the development and linkages of science to practice, and the sociology of complex institutions, all seen over time. The book ranges widely into all aspects of medical education and into all of the factors--legislative, societal, scientific, administrative, organizational, and economic--that have influenced medical
education."--Journal of the History of Medicine
