Symposium on Medical Training, Student Experience and the Transmission of Knowledge
 |
A medical student being examined for his bedside manner by a group of senior doctors.
Wood engraving by G. Morrow, 1914 (Wellcome Library) |
A symposium entitled ‘Medical Training, Student Experience and the
Transmission of Knowledge, c. 1800-2014: New Foundations and Global Perspectives,
will be held in the Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland, University College Dublin, on 17 and 18 October 2014. This two-day symposium will examine
the theme of medical training and education, broadly conceived, (and
incorporating allied medical and scientific specialisms), with the overall
aspiration of broadening our understanding of the changing experiences of
students and those undergoing medico-scientific training in a variety of
institutional and international settings in the modern period. The keynote speaker will be John Harley Warner of Yale University.
Given recent concern about standards of medical education and
training, the symposium is timely. For example, in 2009, the HPAT (Health
Professions Admissions Test) was introduced to Irish medical schools. This
multiple-choice test measures candidates' emotional skills, in an attempt to
ensure that candidates for medical schools possess high degrees of empathy.
The conference will provide historical context to such changes,
assessing how ideas about what makes a ‘good’ medical student/doctor have
changed over time. Related to this, participants will assess how medical
education has adjusted over time to cater to the changing relationship between
doctor and patient, as well as addressing the changing
representations/behaviour of students. Historians of medicine have shown how medical
student experience can vary widely and how educational experiences have been significantly
shaped by national contexts. The conference aims to explore this idea through
an examination of education and training in a range of environments. Participants
will explore the history of medical training through an evaluation of how
medical knowledge and the hallmarks of professional identity have been
transmitted to students over time as well as looking at the development of
tools of training, curriculum and pedagogy. Other aspects of medical student
life and culture such as student involvement in sports clubs, student societies
and other social activities will also be explored.
The conference hopes to bring together historians of medicine,
science and education as well as researchers working in related fields in the
humanities, social sciences and medicine. Contributions that examine the
history of medical education and training in national and international contexts,
as well as proposals which offer interdisciplinary perspectives, are welcomed.
Potential panel themes may include but are not limited to:
- Medical education and
training (e.g. the transmission of medico-scientific knowledge; professional
identity; changing admissions policies; curriculum; pedagogy; clinical
training; education and empire; medical missionary training)
- Training in medical
specialisms and allied sciences (e.g. forensics, dentistry, bacteriology)
- Student experience (e.g.
the impact of gender, nationality, class and location on student experience)
- Student life and culture
(e.g. extra-curricular activities; student societies; sports clubs; friendships
and networks)
- Tools of education (e.g.
anatomical and pathological drawings; anatomical models; medical museums;
textbooks)
- Settings of education
(e.g. the hospital; the laboratory; the garden; the dissecting room; the lecture
theatre)
- What makes a good doctor?
(e.g. the importance of empathy; science; clinical expertise)
- The changing image of the
medical student (e.g. representations of medical students in film, literature,
medical memoirs etc)
- The future of medical
education?
The conference is funded by the generous support of the Irish
Research Council’s New Foundations Scheme. There will be no conference fee and the Centre for the History of Medicine endeavours to contribute towards travel an accommodation expenses. Please
send abstracts of proposals (250-500 words) and a brief biography to Dr Laura
Kelly at laura.kelly@ucd.ie by 18 July. It is hoped that a selection of the conference papers
will be published as chapters in an edited collection following the symposium.