A review of the Flexner Report

doi:10.3760/cma.j.cn115259-20240116-00055

Abstract

Abstract: The Flexner Report (hereinafter referred to as the report) is a landmark report in the history of American medical education. The report is usually only considered as a historical record of the development of medical education in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. In fact, from the perspective of medical education theory, it is a classic educational document. The concept of medical education expounded in the report is an important embodiment of Flexner's view on medical education and it formed the theoretical basis for the reform of medical education in the United States in the early 20th century, which is also one of its major contributions. The contribution of the report to American medical education has become a consensus in the academic field. However, when we have understood the complete path of medical education reform, we can see that its contribution is not only limited to that time. This article attempts to summarize the medical education concepts expounded by Flexner in the report and strives to review the impact of the report more comprehensively in a longer period of time from a historical and developmental perspective, hoping to provide inspiration for the current medical education reform.

Key words: Medical education, The Flexner Report, America, Concepts, Contribution

CLC Number:

R-05

Li Xiuyuan, Zhai Haihun. A review of the Flexner Report[J]. Chinese Journal of Medical Education, 2024, 44(7): 481-486, DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.cn115259-20240116-00055.

References

[1] Flexner A. Medicaleducation in the United States and Canada[M]. New York: The Merrymount Press, 1910.
[2] 胡适. 纪美国医学教育与大学教育的改造者弗勒斯纳先生[J].自由中国,1959,21(10):18-19.
[3] 洪一江, 曾诚. 弗莱克斯纳报告及其对美国医学教育的影响[J].医学与哲学,2008,29(3):67-68.
[4] 贾亮亭, 邱伟华. 《弗莱克斯纳报告》与美国医学教育认证的起源[J].复旦教育论坛,2012,10(6):93-96. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-0059.2012.06.017.
[5] Ludmerer KM. Abraham Flexner and medical education[J]. Perspect Biol Med, 2011,54(1):8-16. DOI: 10.1353/pbm.2011.0009.
[6] Flexner A. Medical education in Europe[M]. New York: The Merrymount Press, 1912: 10.
[7] Flexner A. Universities: American English German[M]. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1930: 24.
[8] Ludmerer K. Learning to heal: the development of American medical education[M]. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press,1996.
[9] Flexner A. The usefulness of the useless knowledge[M]. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017:1.
[10] Cooke M., Irby D., O'Brien B. Educating physicians: a call for reform of medical school and residency[M]. Stanford: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2010.
[11] Baker A. Evolution of the American medical college[J]. Bulletin of the American Academy of Medicine, 1901, 5(1):499.
[12] Flexner A. Medical Education 1909-1924[J]. JAMA, 1924, 82(11): 833-838.
[13] Sabin FR. Franklin paine mall: the story of a mind[M]. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1934:113-114.
[14] Patterson JW. Western reserve: interdepartmental and departmental teaching of medicine and biologic science in four years[J]. J Med Educ, 1956,31(8):521-529.
[15] Papa FJ, Harasym PH. Medical curriculum reform in North America, 1765 to the present: a cognitive science perspective[J]. Acad Med, 1999,74(2):154-164. DOI: 10.1097/00001888-199902000-00015.
[16] Flexner A. Iremember: the autobiography of Abraham Flexner[M]. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1940: 204.
[17] The Rockefeller Foundation annual report 1919[A]. The Rockefeller Foundation Archive: 255-305. https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Annual-Report-1919-1.pdf.
[18] The Rockefeller Foundation annual report 1913-1914[A]. The Rockefeller Foundation Archive: 31-33. https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Annual-Report-1913-1914-1.pdf.