Study Questions
by Prof. Hangen - May 7th, 2013
Our workshop generated some terrific questions and I added a few of my own. Here are some topics to study; the exam’s questions will be based on this list, as well as the glossary wiki and people wiki terms.
Describe a pre-modern theory of disease
Be prepared to contrast/compare diagnosis or treatment in early America vs. in our own time
Benjamin Rush: quack or hero?
What is Foucault’s conception of “the gaze”and why is it a useful concept for historians of medicine?
How (and when) did Johns Hopkins, or the Flexner Report, or European models influence American medical education?
What was “Listerism” and why was it resisted by the American medical establishment?
Is vaccination a Constitutional use of the police power given to states? Discuss this question, using relevant legislation or court cases.
Medical researchers in the early to mid 20th century were on the forefront of scientific discovery, yet positioned themselves firmly against nationalized health care. Can you explain why physician organizations were on the one hand, futuristic in their work and on the other hand, so resistant to certain kinds of change?
Characterize treatment or the patient experience and outcomes at Willard; the institution was an example of what, exactly? I.e., place those experiences in wider context (medical, social, legal or other).
What is Paul Farmer’s contribution to the ethical dimensions of medicine and health care? Would you consider him a modern Hippocrates, why or why not?
Provide a case study of the role of race in medicine or health care in America (possibilities: transfusions/blood banking, epidemics, “white man’s burden”)
What loopholes does the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) close? Where, according to its critics, does the legislation fall short (or, conversely, go too far)?
