October 05, 2016 Wednesday

Bedtime Story

The Flexner Report

The report that Flexner gave about the medical education system in the country was so long and detailed that it came out almost in a book form.

It would transform and revolutionize the American medical system and probably have its influence all over the world since few decades down the road (most certainly after 1945 since the World War II ended) every nation would seek to emulate the United States.

Flexner was very systematic setting Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as the ideal and the referral point for comparing other colleges (and I proudly claim that Johns Hopkins was my alma mater).

Moreover, since Flexner was a product of German immigrants, he had studied and travelled for some time in Europe which was at least before 1900s the world leader in scientific education.

In Europe, the criteria for becoming a physician were far more stringent than in America requiring university education as a basic qualification before pursuing medicine.

In effect, he was trying to usher in America the prevailing practices of the developed and sophisticated Europe and a leader in science.

In brief, Flexner report made these basic 5 recommendations:

1. Close down majority of medical schools (of the existing 155 he recommended shutting down 124) as they were producing doctors with poor medical training.

2. The qualifications needed to enter medical schools ought to be increased.

3. Doctors need to understand the scientific method and they need to be engaged in scientific research.

4. Medical schools should be in charge of the clinics run in the hospital.

5. Medical licensing ought to be strongly regulated by the state

He recommended appointing full-time clinical professors that ought to be barred from private practice in the interest of teaching.

As you can surely see, all these recommendations were met with a fervent and widespread opposition from the medical community.

So what do you think mon ami?

Were such drastic recommendations from a nonentity (just a private school teacher) hurting the interests of existing medical fraternity so grievously would be taken seriously?

Would the doctors tolerate recommendations that would cut down the medical graduates being produced every year by a half or more?

Could it even be vaguely considered implementable in a nation as large and as diverse as the United States which not so long ago (49 years ago) had gone to a civil war on the issue of slaves? 

Stay tuned to the voice of an average storytelling chimpanzee or login at http://panarrans.blogspot.in/

Good night mon ami and my fellow cousin ape.

Another great educator and teacher that I am aware of is Professor Subhashish in Bangalore, India.

While I narrate stories, he actually does and teaches real mathematics and physics.

He started the participation of Indian students at the International Physics Olympiad.

Do visit him here:

http://skmclasses.weebly.com

All his books can be downloaded for free through this link.

https://zookeepersblog.wordpress.com/science-tuition-chemistry-physics-mathematics-for-iit-jee-aieee-std-11-12-pu-isc-cbse/

For entertainment may I suggest Kids Songs channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMX11Z5SJQ3kgwSsFJLRIcg

"...the curse of medical education is the excessive number of schools. The situation can improve only if weaker and superfluous schools are extinguished." Abraham Flexner, 1910