Repository: UIHistories Project: Book - History of University of Illinois at Chicago (1921) [PAGE 9]

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HISTORICAL SKETCH xvi COLLEGE OF M E D I C I N E

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semester hours would be required, including two years of Chemistry, one year of physics, one year of biology and two years of French or German. For t h e first time in the history of the college, it received financial support from other sources t h a n students' fees. The Trustees of the University appropriated $100,000 from the general fund of the University, which amount was expended in strengthening the work of t h e preclinical years. For years the weakness of its fundamental work had been the opprobrium of the medical college. With this amount of money at his command, President James sought for professional teachers in other institutions who had been especially trained as teachers of the various fundamental medical sciences, to reorganize the work of the preclinical years. H e was successful in obtaining among others the services of three men who were eminent in their special branches. Dr. Albert C. Eycleshymer, director of the department of anatomy and acting dean of St. Louis University Medical School, was selected as head of the department of anatomy. Dr. David J. Davis, assistant professor of pathology in Rush Medical College, was selected head of the department of pathology and bacteriology and director of experimental medicine. Dr. William H . Welker, assistant professor of physiological chemistry in the medical department of Columbia University, was selected head of the division of physiological chemistry. During t h e academic year, these departments were completely reorganized. M a n y alterations in the building were made and large quantities of new equipment were installed to accommodate this new work in education, investigation and research.

IN RECENT YEARS

BY DEAN A. C. EYCLESHYMER In attempting to continue the story of our College of Medicine, as told by Drs. Steele and Davison, I realize t h a t I am in a position not unlike one who suddenly comes into the active management of a large business. He cannot appreciate how the business was built up. The ideals; the plans; the work; all are more or less vague. The one thing which confronts him is the perpetuity and growth of the enterprise. I n such an organization there is usually a president, board of directors, superintendent, foremen, etc. T h e position of dean in the College of Medicine is analagous to t h a t of superintendent in the business enterprise. I t is therefore fitting t h a t I should say something of how the plant has been operated during the past six or seven years. The first object of the medical school is to train men to become good doctors; the second, to prepare men to become teachers in medical schools. A good doctor is one who occupies a prominent position in the social life of the community and whose work is not only the alleviation and cure of disease, but also the prevention of disease. A good teacher is one who not only reproduces the known but also produces and thus adds to the known. In training men to become doctors or teachers we must always have in mind two qualities which we must develop:—the one, to imitate whatever has been well done under well defined conditions; the other, to initiate new procedures when new conditions arise. These are the central thoughts around which the entire system of medical education is being built. To attain this end the University has thoroughly equipped its laboratories with all the modern apparatus necessary for teaching and research. I t has steadily increased its library until at the present time it contains all the standard medical works together with complete files of nearly all the medical journals published in English, French and German. I t has begun the reorganization of its faculty by obtaining a number of eminent men in the preclinical branches and placing them on a university basis. They are paid salaries and are thus enabled to devote their whole time to the work of the College of Medicine. The teachers in the clinical branches are unpaid, and are consequently unable to devote their entire time to the work. The time is not far distant when some of the teachers in these branches must also be placed on a university basis. T h e educational requirements have been gradually increased. I n 1913 a year of college work was required for admission in addition to the completion of a four-year high school course. In 1914 a second year of college work was added. Thus all students entering since 1914 have had two years of preliminary college work before entering upon the medical work proper. In 1915 the work of the first two years was of such

M pnule that the University considered it equal to the work given in its other colleges MIKI authorized the granting of the degree of Bachelor of Science upon the completion «»!' these two years. I n 1916 the College of Medicine organized a graduate summer i|ii!i,rl,or. This was the first attempt among medical colleges to set apart a summer <|ii:ui.<T to be devoted exclusively to graduate work leading to the degree of Master of ; ini'iHw or Doctor of Philosophy. The work attracted the attention not only of medical <-duc:itnrs, but also of educators in other fields. I n 1917 the medical course itself W:I:I extended from four years to five. I n the fifth year the student may devote his i imr to the introductory practice of medicine, as an intern in a hospital; or in case he wuilu'M to prepare himself for a professional career, as a teacher in one of the preclinical hnmches, he may devote this year to special preparation for the field of his choice* !\o (withstanding these increased requirements both for entrance and graduation the ni tendance has increased to such an extent t h a t the College is overcrowded and many iiri- turned away. A .sketch of our activities during the past few years would be incomplete without reference to our attempt to speed up the education of our students during the world wj«.r. The. first realization t h a t the College of Medicine was to form a part of the military system of the United States came to us in September, 1917. The provisions <»l l.lin Selective Service Act gave our students the privilege of enlisting for service n ml being assigned to inactive status for the purpose of continuing their medical studies. I HI mediately following the declaration of war, nearly all of our students enlisted either in the Army or Navy and were assigned to inactive duty in the Medical Enlisted R e r.mvn Corps. We were soon confronted with a difficulty in t h a t we were unable to Keep a, sufficient number of teachers from enlisting to carry on the instruction for these ntudents. In anticipation of just this need the Medical Section of the National Council of I )efense on May 15th, 1917 had requested Dean Steele to prepare a list of essential tenehers. This was done b u t it gave the school some anxiety to find t h a t a number ol the men on this list were very soon called to active service. For some reason a uM'otuI lint was requested on July 18, 1918, by the Surgeon General, and though no one h i t that the second list would be considered more seriously t h a n the first, yet it was, nml those who were on t h a t list were accepted by the Army and Navy only after t h e University had released them. I n February, 1918, Major Arnold from the office of the Surgeon General, speaking before the Medical Educational Conference in Chicago stated t h a t " w e have no moral i ipjit, in deference to the drafted men in the fighting line, to give medical students t h e usual summer vacation of three or four m o n t h s . " He suggested t h a t it be possible t«> ^ive three terms in twelve months instead of the usual two terms, and that these terms should begin about October 1, February 1, and June 1. " I f this plan were inlopted now the present first class would be ready for service twelve months earlier than under the present plan, the second class eight months earlier and the third class lour months earlier; the senior class would not be affected." This plan was energetically opposed by the representatives of some state boards, especially Pennsylvania, b u t the eonference by a vote of 37 to 16 adopted the following resolution: " I t is the sense of I IU'M conference t h a t a plan of intensive training by which the time required to complete the course in medicine may be shortened by one year without lowering the present educational standards, be approved as a war measure, and t h a t state boards and universities be requested to take such,action as will conform to i t . " We at once began work on plans for a continuous session on a three-term basis. \\ luui the detailed curriculum was presented to the Surgeon General's office it was pronounced one of the most carefully thought out and best t h a t had been proposed. < Mi May 17, 1918, a telegram was received which ran as follows; " P l a n of continuous f.eMHion to begin this Summer welcome for all schools like Illinois, which can maintain nl.{i.n<lards.—Gorgas." The President and Board of Trustees of the University had previously approved of our plans and we proceeded at once to arrange for a continuous m-Msion. The announcement was made in a leaflet stating t h a t beginning June 3, I'M8, we would operate a continuous session for those students in the Medical Enlisted hVserve Corps alone and t h a t they, upon the completion of four full years of eight months each, would have fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Medicine. < >n July 12, 1918, the following resolution was adopted by the Bureau of Medical I'Mucation and Licensure of Pennsylvania: " I n view of the fact t h a t the University of Illinois College of Medicine has adopted iiml advertised the giving of a course in medicine, to be followed by the conferring of I he degree of Doctor of Medicine within a period of three years,— ' ' AND WHEREAS by the laws of Pennsylvania it is provided t h a t there must be a «i»ur.s(» in medicine leading to the degree of M . D . extending through four calendar

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