As soon as the transfer of Cooper Medical College properties to Stanford was decided upon in 1908, but before the actual transfer was completed in 1909, President Jordan began to pursue intensively the important work of converting Cooper Medical College to a University Medical Department. As the first step in the process he appointed a Committee of Three to consider the organization and entrance requirements of the Medical Department, and adaptation of the medical course to related work in the existing departments of the University.
This original committee, consisting of Stanford Professors O. P. Jenkins, C. D. Marx and John Maxson Stillman (Chairman), after consulting many individuals within and without the University, recommended entrance requirements later adopted by the Academic Council, and a plan for organization of the Medical Faculty which was approved by the President and Advisory Board and adopted by the Trustees. Details of these entrance requirements for students and plan of organization of the Faculty are included in the text at a later stage of this discussion. [1] [2]
The Academic Council referred to above is the chief governing body of the Faculty and is composed entirely of members of the University Faculty. It was established by the Board of Trustees in 1904 when the Board first adopted a formal plan of organization of the University Faculty. The Advisory Board is a subcommittee of the Academic Council. [3]
The Committee of Three also recommended appointment by the President of a larger committee composed of those members of the Cooper Medical College Faculty and the Stanford Faculty who would doubtless be engaged in the future work of the Medical Department. This committee had no official authority, but was to serve as a Provisional Medical Faculty and advisory committee to the President with special reference to instruction in the Medical Department at the University and in San Francisco.
It was decided that the first year of medical instruction would begin in August 1909, students entering then to receive their M. D. degree in 1913. To this end, on 30 October 1908 the President appointed the following twelve professors and three associate professors to serve as the Provisional Medical Faculty. Those not already members of the University Faculty were later elected to the Stanford Medical Department: [4] [5]
Provisional Medical Faculty
Adolph Barkan, Professor of Structure and Diseases
of the Eye, Ear, and Larynx.
Henry Gibbons, Jr., Professor of Obstetrics.
Joseph O. Hirschfelder, Professor of Clinical Medicine.
Stanley Stillman,
Professor of Surgery.
Emmet Rixford, Professor of Surgery.
William Ophüls, Professor of Pathology.
Ray Lyman Wilbur, Professor
of Clinical Medicine (on leave of absence in 1909-1910)
William F. Cheney, Clinical Professor of Diseases of the Digestive System.
Arthur W. Meyer, Professor of Human Anatomy.
The following members of the then current Stanford Faculty were to be associated with the above in medical instruction and were therefore included in the Provisional Medical Faculty:
John
M. Stillman, Professor of Chemistry (Chairman)
Oliver P. Jenkins, Professor
of Physiology.
Frank M. MacFarland, Professor of Histology.
George C.
Price, Associate Professor of Embryology.
Robert I. Swain, Associate Professor
of Physiological Chemistry and Bacteriology.
During the year ending 31 July 1909 the Provisional Medical Faculty held regular sessions to consider the problems and immediate needs of the Medical Department. They elected a special committee, consisting of Professors Barkan, Ophüls, Rixford, Snow and Wilbur (Chairman), whose specific task it was to develop the plan for internal organization of the Medical Department. This plan, as approved by the President and eventually adopted by the Board of Trustees, was as follows: [6] [7]
Plan for the Organization of the Medical Department The teaching body of the Medical Department of Leland Stanford Junior University shall consist of: a. "Professors and Associate Professors" are to be those members of the Medical Faculty who are under full salary and who give the main part of their time to the work in their respective departments. "Clinical Professors and Associate Clinical Professors," are to be of equal rank with Professors and Associate Professors, respectively, in the Medical Faculty, but to be men engaged in practice. The following shall be the Officers of the Medical Department Faculty: (Note: The Officers and Standing Committee members named below are those holding appointment in 1912-13 as listed in the Annual Announcement of the Medical Department for the Year 1912-13) : 1. The Executive Head of the Department, appointed annually by the President, shall act as presiding officer (Ray Lyman Wilbur). 2. A Secretary, who shall also act as Assistant Registrar for the work in San Francisco, under the Registrar of the University (William Ophüls). 3. Standing Committees of the Faculty (among others): An Executive Committee of five members, appointed by the President of the University, to have general administrative functions for the Medical Faculty and to perform such other duties as may be assigned to it by the Medical Faculty. (Ray Lyman Wilbur, Chairman, John Maxson Stillman, William Ophüls, Emmet Rixford, Hans Zinsser. A Committee on Academic Matters , of three members, to be elected by the Medical Faculty from those members of the Medical Faculty belonging to the Academic Council. (Oliver Peebles Jenkins, Chairman, Frank Mace McFarland, Arthur William Meyer). A Clinical Committee, of five members, to take the initiative in arranging clinical material for purposes of instruction and to control the Lane Hospital, to be appointed by the President of the University. (Ray Lyman Wilbur, Chairman, Stanley Stillman, William Ophüls, Alfred Baker Spalding, Adolph Barkan) The term of service of all officers and of all committees shall be one year, or until their successors are chosen. The Medical Faculty shall meet monthly in term-time and otherwise at the call of the presiding officer or of five members. Administrative Divisions. For purposes of administration the Medical Department shall be divided into the following divisions with Divisional Executives: (Note: The Divisional Executives named below are those holding appointment in 1912-13 as listed in the Annual Announcement of the Medical Department for the Year 1912-13) 1.
Anatomy (Arthur William Meyer) |
Requirements for Admission
In 1908 the original Committee of Three, consisting of Professors O. P. Jenkins, C. D. Marx and J. M. Stillman (Chairman), proposed the following requirements for admission to the Medical Department which were later adopted by the Academic Council of the University: and published in the Announcements for 1909 and 1910-1911. [8] [9]
Requirements for Admission. Three years of collegiate work in Stanford University (approximately ninety unit-hours), or its equivalent as accepted by the Committee on Advanced Standing, will be required for admission to the Department of Medicine. This preparatory training must include one year of Physics with laboratory work, one year of Chemistry with laboratory work including Qualitative Analysis, one year of Physiology or Biology with laboratory work, and French or German (such a reading knowledge as shall be acceptable to the Department of Medicine). . . . The State law governing the practice of Medicine in California requires that every person before practicing medicine or surgery must produce satisfactory testimonials of good moral character and a diploma, issued by some legally chartered medical school, the requirements of which shall have been at the time of granting such diploma in no particular less than those prescribed by the Association of American Medical Colleges for the year. For the year 1908 the Association of American Medical Colleges prescribed that every medical student must be registered in a medical college or department for four years and that his preparatory course shall have included two years of Latin, two years of Mathematics, two years of English, one year of History, two years of laboratory science, and six years of further credits in languages, literature, history, or science. Men and women are admitted to the Department of Medicine on equal terms. |
Clearly the AAMC, in cooperation with state licensing boards, was now moving decisively to enforce higher standards for admission to American medical schools.
Dean Wilbur later observed that "Our unusually high admission standards for those days aided in attracting students of exceptional quality. Setting the bars so high meant a considerable loss of students, which at first caused some unfavorable criticism, but by 1912-13 the general attitude was one of 'pointing with pride'." [10]
The Curriculum in Medicine
The original period of study required for the degree of Doctor of Medicine as announced in 1909 was four years (eight semesters). The duration of each semester was approximately 4 months, and there were two semesters in each academic year: September to December and January to May.
| The work of the first three semesters is given in Palo Alto and is devoted mainly to laboratory studies, with lectures and demonstrations in anatomy, physiology, histology, neurology, embryology, chemistry, pharmacology, and bacteriology. The work of the last five semesters will be given in San Francisco and will be devoted mainly to work in the pathological and clinical laboratories and in the hospital wards and dispensary. [11] |
A Thesis based as much as feasible upon research work will be required of each student, as originally announced in 1911. Four curriculum hours of the seventh and eighth semesters shall be devoted
to its preparation under the supervision of one of the Divisions. (The thesis requirement was discontinued in 1931.) [12] [13]
Required Hours Reduced.. The year 1912-13 was the first in which the complete curriculum leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine was given by the Medical Department. Seven men were granted that degree in May 1913.
During the year the medical faculty modified the curriculum for the four years in Medicine, reducing the number of required hours and increasing the number of optional subjects, particularly in the senior year. [14]
The Combined Seven Years' Curriculum at Stanford, announced in 1913, consisted of three years of college work (the premedical program) and four years in medicine; and it led to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Medicine. [15]
Required Intern Year. Beginning with the class entering the Medical Department in September 1914, all students were required to take a fifth practical year in Medicine before receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Arrangements were made so that the fifth year may be spent as intern in a hospital or in part as worker in a laboratory. [16]
The Combined Eight Years' Curriculum, announced in 1915, consisted of three years of college work (the premedical program) and five years of medicine (including the internship); and it led to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Medicine. [17]
Fee Schedule
The tuition fees of the Medical Department, as announced in 1910, were $150 per annum (being the same as currently charged in Cooper Medical College and in the Medical Department of the University of California). Tuition fees were payable in installments of $75 each semester; $5 per semester for the first four semesters, covering charges for anatomical material; and such other deposits to cover breakage or loss of apparatus or materials as may be required in any department or division, these deposits being returnable, less charges for breakage, loss, or wear and tear of apparatus or materials used. The total deposits for this purpose might vary from $10 to $20 per annum. [18]