Investigating the Presence of the History of Medicine in North American Medical Education: Can One of the Medical Humanities Concisely Integrate with Biomedical and Clinical Content with Reference to Clinical Competencies?

As a curricular topic, the history of medicine can reinforce medical knowledge while integrating the benefits associated with humanities education. This study examined the degree to which medical history was present in the curricula of North American Medical Schools, how those sessions (if any) were delivered, and who delivered them. We hypothesized that medical history would be present but that very few American Medical schools would have mandatory sessions, that the presentation of this content would be very diverse, and that sessions would be presented by a variety of professionals.