About the Program
Learning about the history of medical practices and the evolution of the medical profession, helps to enhance our understanding of the current state of medicine.
By thinking about the way in which certain practices develop, we can better appreciate the traditions and innovations in this field.
Developments in medicine often seem to come about as a result of new discoveries, pioneering individuals, and technological advances. Sometimes, however, these internal dynamics seem rather insignificant alongside a number of political, cultural and social influences that shape the way that medicine is practiced, organized and delivered.
Integrating historical material into the pre-clinical curriculum encourages us to remain sceptical about how the field has developed; it reminds us that innovations, mistakes, and triumphs in medicine are the result of human choice, judgement, experience, preference, and skill. Critically analyzing how these variables have shaped the history of medicine enhances our own decision-making skills.
Historians are trained to ask questions about why and how certain events took place, why such moments are significant, and to whom. Historical examinations do not simply narrate a sequence of events, but carefully analyze events and the historical context in which they occurred. These kinds of skills make historians well suited to investigate medicine within its historical and contemporary contexts.
Our cooperative initiative, which brings historians, clinicians, and students together, will enrich our understanding of medical history, and help us to develop skills in critical analysis that assist us in decision making.
The History of Medicine Program at the University of Alberta is an interdisciplinary initiative conceived of by historian Pat Prestwich, and internist-geneticist Dawna Gilchrist, and librarian-historian Jeanette Buckingham. Their cooperative vision for an interdisciplinary program received formal support from the Faculties of Arts and Medicine & Dentistry in 2004.
The programme was launched in 2005/2006, and places the U of A within a growing North American trend of integrating history of medicine into the general curriculum in medical schools.
The programme continuously strives to expand historical content in medical school and course offerings in the Department of History & Classics. In addition to classroom learning, this initiative also provides new opportunities for medical students to engage in historical study as part of their medical training, and for history students to participate in interdisciplinary seminars alongside medical students and residents.
There are also a variety of professional activities associated with the history of medicine, including: conference presentations, abstract and article publications, and poster presentations that enhance professional development across disciplines.