Abstract
IN his Bradshaw lecture recently delivered before the Royal College of Physicians, Dr. C. S. Myers discusses the education of the medical student from the point of view of the industrial psychologist. As regards pre-medical study, which consists of physics, chemistry and biology, he considers that far more time is spent in practical work on such subjects than is necessary for those who are not going to specialise in any of them, especially as they have no educational value for the future doctor. A similar criticism is directed against the enormous amount of detail in anatomy and physiology required of the student, whereas little attempt is made at this stage to gather anatomical information from the corpse in the postmortem room. The student derives his knowledge of human anatomy mainly from dissection of the cadaver, in which the desiccated organs have lost their form and their relations in the living body. As a remedy for these and other defects in medical education, Dr. Myers makes the following suggestions. In the first place, the student should spend part of his time in the wards as soon as he begins to study anatomy and physiology. Secondly, during the hospital period, he should receive a more complete education in the whole range of medicine and surgery before he attends the specialist departments. Thirdly, some training in the recognition and treatment of psychoneuroses is necessary for the future general practitioner, who is too liable to mistake the true nature of such conditions. Lastly, before, entering into general practice, he should serve an apprenticeship between tHe passing of the qualifying examination and the actual conferment of the diploma or degree.
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Reform of Medical Education. Nature 133, 134 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/133134b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/133134b0