National Library of Medicine Announces Addition of Sir William Osler Papers to Profiles in Science

Sir William Osler (1849–1919) was the best-known physician of his era. Today, he is recognized as one of the founders of modern science-based medicine. Born to Anglican missionaries in the Canadian frontier territory north of Toronto, Ontario, Osler was inspired to pursue a medical career by two early mentors, a clergyman and a physician who introduced him to natural science and to humanistic literature. When he began his training in 1868, few American medical schools included courses in laboratory sciences or required that students work with actual patients; standards of medical practice were often loose, and physician competence varied widely. During his long career, Osler was a driving force in modernizing medical practice and education. Among many other achievements, he revolutionized American medical education with the clinical internship program he instituted at the new Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, in which senior students worked in hospital wards full time to "learn medicine at the bedside."
Source: NLM General Announcements - Category: Databases & Libraries Source Type: news