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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.

MD student tutorial group Learn More

MD student tutorial group discussing the problem of coagulation, 1970s.

anatomical pathology laboratory Learn More

Students studying limb anatomy in the anatomical pathology laboratory, around 1977.

audiovisual study carrel Learn More

Student using an audiovisual study carrel at HSL, 1979.

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).

"A Fair Share Symposium" Learn More

MD student organizers of “A Fair Share Symposium” grabbing lunch between sessions, March 1987.

study carrels Learn More

Health Sciences Library (HSL) study carrels, around 1992.

standardized patient Learn More

Second-year MD students learning with a standardized patient (SP), ca. 1997.

Niagara Regional Campus Learn More

First MD graduates of the Niagara Regional Campus with regional assistant dean, Dr. Karl Stobbe (centre), May 2011.