The shaping of things to come: Scottish medical education 1700-1939.
BACKGROUND
The history of medical education in Scotland is quite well known. It is largely told as a story of universities, of high standards and of an education mainly available to men from ordinary backgrounds who became general practitioners and servants of the British Empire. This paper asks whether there was anything peculiarly Scottish about the medical education to be had north of the border.


CONCLUSIONS
The answer to this is yes. The paper shows there was a commitment among Scottish teachers to present medicine as a practical art based on general principles that brought the subject together in all its aspects, notably uniting internal medicine and surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
Modern academic medicine has ironed out these differences and medical education in Scotland today is much the same as western medical education in excellent universities anywhere in the world.
Lawrence
Christopher
C
Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London, London, UK. ucgalaw@ucl.ac.uk
D000715:Anatomy / Q000266:history; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000266:history*; D013502:General Surgery / Q000266:history; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000266:history; D012606:Scotland; D014495:Universities / Q000266:history*