HISTORY OF MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE IN AMERICAN MEDICAL EDUCATION

DESCRIPTION

This elective provides students with an overview of the development of medical jurisprudence as a special area for scholarly inquiry.  Emphasis is placed on the early history of medical jurisprudence teaching in nineteenth century United States medical schools, but important European influences are also explored.  Students will trace the evolution of medical jurisprudence as a subject of study in medical schools from its era of central importance in the early 1800's to the resurgence of interest in law and medicine in contemporary curricula.

In exploring the history of medical jurisprudence, students will pay particular attention to classic areas of medico-legal overlap, including medicine's role in assisting with legal definitions of paternity and insanity.  The role of physicians as expert witnesses will be discussed and the history of toxicology as a forensic tool will be explored.  Attention will also be paid to the development of a number of related legal issues as they have informed the curricula of American medical schools, particularly the emergence of malpractice as the central concern of medico-legal study.

OBJECTIVES

As a result of participation in this elective and by using the textbook entitled Doctors & the Law: Medical Jurisprudence in Nineteenth Century America (Oxford University Press, 1993) by James Mohr and other assigned readings, students will be able to:

EVALUATION

Evaluation will consist of daily participation in seminar sessions, oral assessment of assigned readings, and performance on an essay examination covering elective material.  Students also will be expected to research important historical cases and make a formal presentation based on their research results.

PREREQUISITES