Becoming MD
In celebration of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine’s 50th anniversary, this exhibition traces the experiences of students in the undergraduate education program from acceptance through to graduation and residency.
Full physical exhibition is currently on view on the Health Sciences Library’s lower level in the History of Health and Medicine Room.
In September 1969, the first 20 students began at McMaster’s new School of Medicine. Dubbed in the local press as “pioneers” in the “great McMaster experiment,” these students were the first in a radically new kind of medical school. It accepted students from a non-science background, emphasized problem-based learning and small-group tutorials, had no discipline-specific courses, and peer and tutorial leader evaluations replaced exams. Over its 50 year history, the “McMaster experiment” has proven highly successful. The school has become consistently ranked within the top 50 medical schools in the world and garnered international renown for both its educational innovations and high-impact research.
In celebration of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine’s 50th anniversary, this exhibition traces the experiences of students in the undergraduate education program from acceptance through to graduation and residency. Photographs, documents, and artifacts from the Health Sciences Archives are brought together with alumni anecdotes to share a glimpse of what it is like to be a student on the path to becoming a MD in this illustrious program.
Highlights
student-faculty football match Learn More
Student-faculty football match, about 1970.
student-faculty football match
HSA, OV5.
Faculty members face off against students likely from the first medical class. Dr. John Evans, founding dean of McMaster’s Faculty of Medicine, can be seen center-left.
MD student tutorial group Learn More
MD student tutorial group discussing the problem of coagulation, 1970s.
MD student tutorial group
HSA, Box 136.8, file 17
anatomical pathology laboratory Learn More
Students studying limb anatomy in the anatomical pathology laboratory, around 1977.
anatomical pathology laboratory
HSA, Box 136.7, file 6.
audiovisual study carrel Learn More
Student using an audiovisual study carrel at HSL, 1979.
audiovisual study carrel
HSA, Box 136.8, file 17.
In the 1970s, the HSL had 56 wired a/v carrels and nearly 3,000 slide/tape sets in its collection.
Class of '83 Learn More
HSA, OV1. McMaster’s medical school has a long history of leading Canadian medical schools in admitting the highest proportion of women. The class of ’83 was the first at McMaster to have more women (55) than men (45).
Class of '83
HSA, OV1. McMaster’s medical school has a long history of leading Canadian medical schools in admitting the highest proportion of women. The class of ’83 was the first at McMaster to have more women (55) than men (45).
"A Fair Share Symposium" Learn More
MD student organizers of “A Fair Share Symposium” grabbing lunch between sessions, March 1987.
"A Fair Share Symposium"
HSA, Box 136.8, file 15.
Identified are (from left): Andrew Quinn, Miles Ellis, James Orbinski, and Allan Kitching.
study carrels Learn More
Health Sciences Library (HSL) study carrels, around 1992.
study carrels
HSA, Box 196.2, file 5
standardized patient Learn More
Second-year MD students learning with a standardized patient (SP), ca. 1997.
standardized patient
HSA, Box 137.5, file 7. Identified (from left) is: Giles Hunter (SP), Zubim Punthakee, Tonya de Waal, Ellen Rumm, and Dr. Jennifer Blake, chair of the undergraduate MD program. SPs are healthy people trained to realistically reproduce the physical/emotional symptoms that a real patient would present in various medical scenarios. The SP program was formalized in 1971 as an educational tool for the undergraduate MD program. SPs are now used in all Faculty of Health Sciences programs.
Niagara Regional Campus Learn More
First MD graduates of the Niagara Regional Campus with regional assistant dean, Dr. Karl Stobbe (centre), May 2011.
Niagara Regional Campus
HSA, digital collection.
Celebrating 50 Years of Medical Excellence
This historical timeline highlights and celebrates some of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine’s many achievements and milestones throughout its 50 year history.
Full physical exhibition is currently on view on the Health Sciences Library’s upper level in the library’s Learning Commons.
“There is no curriculum; there are no examinations; there are no lectures. What kind of an educational institution could this possibly be?”
–Dr. John Evans, founding dean, relating the initial reaction of McMaster’s Senate to the proposed educational approach at the new medical school in the 1960s.
The tale is well-known at McMaster: Frustrated by traditional forms of medical training, the founders of McMaster’s medical school developed a radical new approach that emphasized small group problem-based learning. Dubbed the “McMaster Approach”, the three-year program had no discipline-specific courses, peer and tutorial leader evaluations replaced exams, and students were not required to have a background in science. Since the first 20 students began 50 years ago, the school has become consistently ranked within the top 50 medical schools in the world and garnered international renown for both its educational innovations and high-impact research. This timeline highlights and celebrates some of the school’s many achievements and milestones.
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Medical Class of 1972 Virtual Time Capsule
The first class of students in McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine graduated in 1972. Below are interviews the University recorded with members of that class to mark the 50th anniversary of their convocation in 2022.
