Flexner Report

The Flexner Report, written by the professional educator Abraham Flexner (1866-1959), radically changed the way medical schools were run in Canada and the United States. It was published in 1910 under the aegis of the Carnegie Foundation. Highlights of the report included the fact that there were too many medical schools, many were substandard and that pre-requisites for the study of medicine and the content of medical education needed to be defined.

Flexner introduced the concept of minimum requirements to get into medical school. One needed a high school diploma and at least two years of college or university level science.

Flexner recommended that medical school be of four years in duration. The first two years would involve the basic sciences and the last two years would be clinical.

Medical schools in Canada and the United States today still follow this outline.

Recently, schools have been diverging from the Flexner Report with more focus towards public health.

Reference

• Flexner A. Medical Education in the United States and Canada. 1910.