How to Become a Medical Historian
There was a time when the term "medical historian" referred to a retired doctor appointed by his medical society to document its activities or those of its more esteemed members. Now, there are entire university departments devoted to this discipline. Fortunately, there are still retired members of medical societies making sure that doctors who were known only to their patients still leave a recorded mark of some kind.
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Instructions
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Begin your orientation by familiarizing yourself with a time line of medical history. This time line from the Institute at the University of Nottingham also links to a massive number of resources.
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Familiarize yourself with the National Library of Medicine, a center that is funded by the National Institute of Health. In America, this is the premier source of documentation of medical history.
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Check out a department of medical history to see if you have an interest in pursuing a degree in medical history. The University of Wisconsin at Madison has an excellent department--combined with its department of medical ethics--and is representative of the field.
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Choose between an informal self-taught education or a formal education. If you choose self-taught, roll up your sleeves and begin by examining the Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus. This is the oldest recorded series of medical cases. Review the 48 cases.
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Read some or all of the works of Hippocrates. This Greek physician lived in approximately the fifth century B.C. and is called the father of modern medicine, not so much because of any tremendous scientific insight but because he laid out the tenets of the doctor/patient relationship.
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Study Galen, the great Roman physician. Explore a website devoted to the greatest evolutionary minds of the renaissance. Study the history of military medicine.
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Study William Osler as representative of the transition into modern medicine. Use the Archives of Modern Medicine as a source for studying contemporary medical history.
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Resources
- Time line of medical history.
- Website of the National Library of Medicine.
- Website for the University of Wisconsin's department of medical history.
- Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus.
- Works of Hippocrates.
- Texts of Galen.
- Website devoted history of evolutionary thought.
- Biography of William Osler.
- Website of the Archives of Modern Medical History.
