The 'Yale School of Medicine' at
Yale University is a
private medical school located in
New Haven,
Connecticut,
U.S. It was founded in
1810 as The Medical Institution of Yale College, and formally opened in
1813.
The primary teaching hospital for the school is
Yale-New Haven Hospital. The school is home to the
Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library, one of the largest modern medical libraries, also known for its historical collections. The faculty includes 25
National Academy of Sciences members and 17
Institute of Medicine investigators.
Education
The School of Medicine offers a medical degree (
M.D.) and a physician associate (PA) degree (
M.M.S.). Public Health degrees are administered through the
Yale School of Public Health. There are also joint degree programs with other disciplines at Yale including law (M.D/
J.D.), business (M.D./
M.B.A.), public health (M.D/M.P.H.) and science/engineering (M.D./
Ph.D.). There is even a joint program in divinity (M.D./
M.Div).
The M.D. program is notable for its assessment of student achievement. In particular, the school employs the so-called "Yale System", established by Dean Winternitz in the 1920s, wherein first- and second-year students are not
graded or
ranked among their classmates. In addition, course
examinations are anonymous, and are intended only for students' self-evaluation. Student performance is thus based on
seminar participation, clinical clerkship evaluations, and the
USMLE. Prior to
graduation, students are required to submit a
thesis based on
original research.
History
In 18th century America, credentials were not needed to practice medicine. Prior to the founding of the medical school, Yale graduates would train through an apprenticeship in order to become physicians. Yale president
Ezra Stiles conceived the idea of training physicians at Yale and ultimately, his successor
Timothy Dwight IV helped to found the medical school. The school was chartered in
1810 and opened in New Haven in
1813.
Nathan Smith (medicine and surgery) and
Benjamin Silliman (pharmacology) were the first faculty members. Silliman was a professor of chemistry and taught at both Yale College and the Medical School. The other two founding faculty were Jonathan Knight, anatomy, physiology and surgery and Eli Ives, pediatrics.
[2]
The original building (at Grove and Prospect) later became Sheffield Hall, part of the
Sheffield Scientific School (razed in
1931). In
1860, the school moved to Medical Hall on York Street, near Chapel (this building was razed in 1957). In
1925, the school moved to its current campus, neighboring the hospital.
Deans
Before 1845, there was no dean. Nathan Smith, followed by Jonathan Knight, provided leadership in the early years.
★ Charles Hooker (1845-1863), Professor of Anatomy and Physiology. His practice included surgery, obstetrics, and practical medicine.
★ Charles Augustus Lindsley (1863-1885), Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics; later of the Theory and Practice of Medicine.
★ Herbert Eugene Smith (1885-1910), physician and chemist
★ George Blumer (1910-1920)
★ Milton Winternitz (1920-1935), pathologist
★ Stanhope Bayne-Jones (1935-1940), physician and bacteriologist
★ Francis Gilman Blake (1940-1947)
★
Cyril Norman Hugh Long (1947-1952), physician and biochemist
★ Vernon W. Lippard (1952-1967)
★
Frederick Carl Redlich (1967-1972), psychiatrist
★
Lewis Thomas (1972-1973), physician and author
★ Robert Berliner (1973-1984)
★ Leon Rosenberg (1984-1991)
★ Robert M. Donaldson (acting) (1991-1992)
★ Gerard N. Burrow (1992-1997)
★
David Aaron Kessler (1997-2003), pediatrician, lawyer and former commissioner of the
FDA
★ Dennis Spencer (acting) (2003-2004), neurosurgeon
★ Robert Alpern (2004-present), nephrologist
Notable faculty
★
Harvey Cushing
★
Russell Henry Chittenden
★
Arnold Gesell
★
Orvan Hess
★
Lafayette Mendel
★
Nathan Smith
★
Stephen Fleck
★
Theodore Lidz
See also
★
List of Yale University people
References
1. School of Medicine Vital Statistics
2. Founding of the Medical Institution at Yale College
External links
★
Official site
★
Medicine at Yale 1701-1901
★
Medicine at Yale 1901-1951
★
Medicine at Yale 1951-2001