Learning to Heal: The Development of American Medical Education [Paperback]

Kenneth M. Ludmerer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1996

The development of American medical education involved a conceptual revolution in how medical students should be taught. With the introduction of laboratory and hospital work, students were expected to be active participants in their learning process, and the new goal of medical training was to foster critical thinking rather than the memorization of facts. In Learning to Heal, Kenneth Ludmerer offers the definitive account of the rise of the modern medical school and the shaping of the medical profession.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

By the late 1800s, a typical American physician had received his formal train ing at one of the nation's two dozen proprietary medical schools. Admis sion standards were lax, the curriculum covered two four-month terms, no writ ten examinations were required, and little clinical experience was offered. Ludmerer provides an engrossing nar rative history of the rise of the modern medical college and teaching hospital from these rather shaky beginnings. He has compressed a considerable amount of historical data into readable prose, often providing fresh perspective on the major social, scientific, and peda gogical forces that have shaped the course of medical education since the 19th century. Especially interesting is an extensive section on early reform movements and their influence. Rec ommended. Richard H. Quay, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, Ohio
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Learning to Heal is the best description I have read on the development of US medical schools, and it's an informative reminder to all US medical graduates of where their education came from.

(The Lancet )

Kenneth Ludmerer's excellent book tells the fascinating story of how the United States achieved its world leadership in medical education... The best study yet of the origins of modern medical education.

(James H. Jones New York Times Book Review )

A brilliant interpretation of the origins of modern medical education... A stunning achievement.

(Thomas N. Bonner American Historical Review )

An excellent work of scholarship, compressing a relatively vast literature into a readable and informative volume.

(Gordon T. Moore, M.D. New England Journal of Medicine )

Learning to Heal should be recommended reading for every student, practitioner, faculty member, or administrator concerned with the past, present, and future of American medical education and practice.

(Alberto Galofré, M.D. Journal of the American Medical Association )

A first-rate storyteller.

(Sherman Mellinkoff Los Angeles Times Book Review )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 359 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801852587
• ISBN-13: 978-0801852589
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #742,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Selecting students for medical school admission, December 28, 2000

By 

J. Courtland Robinson, MD, MPH (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning to Heal: The Development of American Medical Education (Paperback)

This book is highly recommended to members of the academic medical profession and in particular those who sit on admission committees. As the author notes in the introduction, the reason for the book was to bring to the fore the fact that medical school was an educatiional process of learning to heal and not a technical training institute. This initial phase is critical for it must last a lifetime.

The fourteen chapters, some of which are previous articles, move from early days to the present. He comments and describes the education scene in early America, the role of the German system, the birth of modern academic medicine and its associated teaching hospital and some assorted ones on finance, state laws, and organized medicine.

The writting is relaxed and clear allowing the book to be read with pleasure and value. The facts are clearly presented in support of his story of the developement of American medical education, warts and all. There are some wonderful word pictures of early days when medical education was not what what we would like to think was in our past.

Hihgly recommended to all MD's but in particular to those with a concern for education and the selection of candidates.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Foundation - Weak Follow-through, April 21, 2001

By 

N. Liberati (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Learning to Heal: The Development of American Medical Education (Paperback)

I felt that this book started off strong describing the transformation of medical education from a mentorship during Civil War times to the proprietary schools of the Reconstruction Era and the birth of today's medical school in the Guilded Age.

The impact of the Flexner Report and the evolution of the philanthropic infusion into medicine is explained well.

However, I thought the book had a weak ending. It left me wondering if there wasn't much change in medical education over the past 60 years, since there's not much mention of developments in the latter half of the 20th century.