How the Flexner Report Changed Medicine

The Flexner Report of 1910, which revamped American medical education, is examined for its positive impacts and negative consequences. The report, commissioned by the AMA and conducted by Abraham Flexner, led to the closure of many substandard medical schools and the standardization of medical education based on the Johns Hopkins model, which itself was based on the German model. While this improved the quality of medical training and patient care, it also suppressed alternative medicine, negatively impacted black and women's medical schools, and promoted a focus on science over humanism in medicine. The report recommended closing five of the seven black medical schools, and Flexner himself expressed skepticism about women's ability to withstand the rigors of medical training. Despite the advancements in medical science and practice, the podcast questions whether the Flexner Report's emphasis on the neurochemical model led to the suppression of beneficial mental health treatments.