PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 28, No. 19, May 7, 2009

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Book Corner

How Illinois reformed medical education

By Brittany Small
News Bureau Student Intern

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The UI College of Medicine has its origins in the 1882 opening of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago. In 1897, the College of Physicians and Surgeons became affiliated with the UI and began a relationship that endured its fair share of trials, successes and a few bitter fights. In “Reforming Medical Education: The University of Illinois College of Medicine, 1880-1920,” (UI Press/April 2009) author Winton U. Solberg, professor emeritus of history, places the early history of the UI College of Medicine in a national and international context, tracing its origins, crises and reforms through its first tumultuous decades.

When Solberg started this work he thought that the end result would be only a chapter. However, as he began his research his sources were scattered over the state of Illinois. “My research grew beyond the confines of a single chapter and it evolved into a book,” Solberg said.

The book details the efforts of various men and women who worked out the finances, governance and policies that would balance the College of Medicine’s commitments to patient care, research and medical education for the 20th century.

In particular, Solberg focuses on two people whose efforts were especially instrumental in establishing the college. University President Edmund J. James had long been committed to the reform of medical education and he exerted himself mightily to integrate the College of Medicine within the university. Although not directly affiliated with the UI, Abraham Flexner’s famous Flexner Report on medical education reform detailed the specific improvements that the university and state of Illinois would need to make to develop the college into a major institution.

Solberg discusses the role of the college and the city of Chicago in the historic transformation from the late 19th century – when Germany was the acknowledged world center of medicine and the germ theory of disease was not yet widely accepted – to 1920, by which time the United States had emerged as the leader in modern medical research and education. With meticulous scholarship and attention to detail, this volume chronicles the long and difficult struggle to achieve that goal.

“I hope that people will be made more aware of the role the maturing university and higher education in America played in developing medical education in the United States,” Solberg said. “We lack a good history of this university and I wanted to take the opportunity to begin that process because I think the truth is in the details.”

“Solberg has written a lively and authoritative history of an important medical school during its formative years,” said Kenneth M. Ludmerer, author of “Time to Heal: American Medical Education From the Turn of the Century to the Era of Managed Care.” “It is well researched, well contextualized, and engaging. The book will be of interest to anyone interested in medical education or the University of Illinois.” 

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