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Medical education: 100 years of progress

The AMA Council on Medical Education celebrates its centennial with a nod to the past and a look to the future.

Editorial. Nov. 15, 2004.

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When the American Medical Association created the Council on Medical Education 100 years ago, there were no uniform standards for medical schools, and it was widely believed that the principal issue facing these institutions was the reform of medical education.

But consensus on the fact that reform was the principal issue in medical education by no means ensured that reforms were the next step.

At the time, many medical schools were privately owned and operated by the faculty. They were self-supporting, with student fees being most schools' main source of income. Most faculty members were afraid that raising standards would result in decreased enrollment, which would, in turn, lead to less income. As a result, they were largely resistant to change.

It was into this environment that the Council on Medical Education was created in 1904. The council's general goal at that time was to improve medical education in the United States. It had its work cut out for it.

Undaunted, it hit the ground running, issuing its first version of minimum and ideal standards for a medical school in 1904, conducting its first inspection of medical schools in 1906 and its first survey of hospitals for training interns in 1912. In 1910, it supported the Flexner Report, which articulated new standards for medical schools and catalyzed a significant change in medical education in this country. The report is still considered a landmark in the history of medical education.