Medical Education— Its Responsibility to Society

Noty since the 1910 Flexner report, "Medical Education in the United States and Canada," has the question of what is wrong with American medical education been a public issue. 1 Comparison of the circumstances in 1910 with 1970 presents an interesting paradox. There were far too many medical schools then; now there are too few. Medical schools at that time were little more than commercial diploma mills with low standards, no scientific pursuits, and a deplorable lack of concern with quality. Now the standards are very high, medical institutions are sometimes accused of being science institutes rather than schools, and the pursuit of excellence is a frequently proclaimed creed. In 1910 most physicians were dangerously inadequate and poorly qualified, but there was no shortage of physicians. Now physicians are highly skilled but in short supply. Then, any student willing to pay enrollment costs could get into a medical school. Today,