The purposes of the study was to examine selected factors that were influential in the decline of the University College of Medicine (UCM) in Richmond, Virginia, from 1893 to 1913. UCM was created in the midst of a national medical reform movement. In ways, the institution directly contributed to the reform of medical training in Virginia.;It was the writer's contention that the decline of UCM happened because of the political pressures emerging from medical accrediting agencies, licensing and examining boards, and related organizations. The character of the institution was modified through recommendations of external organizations and coercion was felt through advancing accreditation standards. It was further hypothesized that the curricular and structural pressures from accreditation requirements became oppressive and led to the decline of the institution. Finally, it was hypothesized that the decline of UCM was affected because of the lack of a sound financial structure. Without such a structure, implementation of recommended improvements in medical education would not have taken place because of the high cost.;The historical method of research was used in writing about selected factors which affected the decline of UCM. This method allowed for the examination of primary source documents, the obtaining of oral testimony from participants and observers, and the scrutiny of relationships which existed among individuals, institutions, organizations and events.;It was concluded that what constituted an adequate medical education had changed. In addition to national demands for reform, new methods and values began to create new financial pressures for which many medical schools were not able to provide. The only financial relief apparently lay in a medical school combining itself with the scientific department of a university. Such an institution usually had either governmental support, a sizeable endowment or both. In some cases this route was followed by schools that had a university with which they could unite. For others, it meant merging with other medical schools or closing.;Further research is suggested in the area of factors affecting medical education at the Medical College of Virginia and the medical department of the University of Virginia; the impact that the departments of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy had on education in Virginia; the relationship between the Virginia Hospital and UCM; the influence of the departments of dentistry and pharmacy on the department of medicine at UCM; and the effect of political, curricular, and financial pressures on the department of dentistry at UCM.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:wm.edu/oai:scholarworks.wm.edu:etd-2085 |
| Date | 01 January 1986 |
| Creators | Woodruff, Byron Lee |
| Publisher | W&M ScholarWorks |
| Source Sets | William and Mary |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects |
| Rights | © The Author |
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