Nineteenth Century Medical Education for Tomorrow's Doctors

Abstract

Many of the ideas contained within the GMC's 'Tomorrow's Doctors' could be considered as old ideas reworked for modern medical education. Sir John Struthers, a pioneer in the field of medical education, touched on many of the issues in 'Tomorrow's Doctors' in his writings published over one hundred years ago. The study of the history of medicine, often neglected by members of our profession in the search for new ideas, is not only of interest, but is valuable to current and future medical education. History illustrates the mistakes of the past, but also helps highlight the successes and insights that remain applicable and relevant today.

Sir John Struthers (1823–1899) and His Ligament and Arcade

“…4,6 After this, he shifted his research interests to describing vestigial structures. 2,4 He published works describing the carpal and tarsal bones in horses and the development of a rudimentary hind limb in the Great Fin Whale. 8,9 Darwin and Struthers communicated regarding their research.…”

“…When available, whales were brought to Aberdeen where Struthers would perform a dissection and give lectures to medical students on vestigial structures in mammals. 2,9,18 In this way, he published many papers on the anatomy of whales, especially the humpback. 18 Struthers' most famous dissection of a whale was that of the Tay Whale in December 1883 (Figure 4).…”

“…Wood, however, allowed Struthers to perform a dissection for which he sold tickets so the public could observe the spectacle. 2,3,5 Struthers commented that the circus-like affair was a hindrance to his scientific objective. 3 Despite being considered one of the worst poets in England's history, William McGonagall ensured this event would not be forgotten by accurately describing the details of the whale's demise in his poem The Famous Tay Whale.…”

“…In conjunction with several other anatomy lecturers, he formed the new School of Anatomy at Surgeon's Hall in 1849. 2,4 He was later promoted to Full Surgeon and remained at the Infirmary until his appointment as the Regius Chair of Anatomy at Aberdeen in 1863. 4,5 After receiving this coveted position, he chose to give up his work as a surgeon.…”

“…He believed such a position to be worthy of his full attention and disapproved of his colleagues who attempted to balance a career in anatomy with another in surgery or medicine. 2 Struthers' distinguished career continued after his retirement from the chair of anatomy at…”