Just What is an Archive? the POSNA Archive online

Here's an excellent overview of what to expect when you visit an archive. The process involved is common with any collection, no matter the topic. At the hospital we host the POSNA Archive, which is gaining an online presence at POSNA's website under History. Through the dedicated work of hospital staff and POSNA Historical Committee members, the historical video collection posted there is growing.

Websites Referenced
http://www.historicalcookingproject.com/2018/07/de-mystifying-archive.html
https://posna.org/Our-Society/History/Archives
https://posna.org/Our-Society/History
https://posna.org/Our-Society/History/History-Video-Archives

Circulating Now - History of Medicine Comes Alive

Circulating Now is a newsletter featuring history of medicine topics.

“Free things like air,
Vital things like blood,
Living things like ideas…
Circulate.”

Sign up to receive an alert when a new topic is featured! From the History of Medicine Division of the NationalLibrary of Medicine,  “Circulating Now conveys the vitality of medical history in our 21st-century world: its relevance and importance for research, teaching, and learning about the human condition.”

Recent articles have featured turkeys, World War I reflections from Dr. Osler, a WWII pharmacist mate’s papers, and photography of the invisible (X-rays).

Websites referenced:

http://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/index.html

http://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/11/23/an-early-look-at-the-turkey/

http://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/12/29/what-a-mess-and-we-are-not-half-through-dr-osler-on-englands-home-front-in-world-war-i/

http://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/11/10/a-pharmacists-mate-first-class/

http://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/09/24/photography-of-the-invisible-and-its-value-in-surgery/

Polio and Salk Vaccine Development - the Mutter Museum

The Mutter Museum offers a variety of medical history online. Sponsored by the College of Physicians of Philadephia, it includes photos and timelines. Also available is a brochure about their medicinal garden, which includes a number of plants that have proven helpful over time.

A special exhibit focuses on the History of Vaccines. This site includes a number of photos relating to polio and a timeline of important events in disease control.

In addition their blog features a neat National History Day 2012 second place video winner called "Salk Vaccine Trials." The students covered the emergence of the polio epidemic, causing 20,000 cases per year, through the creation of the Salk vaccine.

Websites referenced
http://www.collegeofphysicians.org/mutter-museum/
http://www.collegeofphysicians.org/
http://www.collegeofphysicians.org/assets/pdfs/gardenbrochure.pdf
http://www.collegeofphysicians.org/mutter-museum/medicinal-garden/
http://www.historyofvaccines.org/gallery/19
http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/timelines/all
http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/blog/world-polio-day-high-schoolers-look-salk-vaccine-trial

Dr. W.B. Carrell’s Story Included on Portal to Texas History

Dr. William Beall Carrell, our first Chief of Staff, was featured in an article written by Steven Schmich and published in the Dallas Historical Society’s Legacies: a History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas almost 20 years ago. Now the article is available online through the Portal to Texas History project sponsored by the University of North Texas Libraries.

The subject index to Legacies lists additional topics under “Medicine and Health Care.” One mentioned is the Linz Award, which Dr. Carrell was awarded in 1925. He was only the second person to receive the award, “given annually to the citizen of Dallas who has made the greatest contribution to the community in the preceding year.” You can see the beautiful award on display in the Medical Library's Historical Collection.

An article from the Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings also mentions Dr. Carrell (and Dr. Brandon Carrell) as early orthopaedic surgeons on their staff.

Websites referenced
http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth35114/m1/26/
http://texashistory.unt.edu/
http://www.library.unt.edu/
http://dallasheritagevillage.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Legacies-General-Subject-Index-May2015.pdf
http://dallasheritagevillage.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Legacies-Author-Index-May2015.pdf
http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth35101/m1/39
https://www.jld.net/linz/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1305830/

index link updated 12-30-2015

200 Years of New England Journal of Medicine

"With this issue the New England Journal of Medicine marks its 200th anniversary." While the January, 1812, issue was delivered by horseback, today's January 5, 2012, issue (v.366, no.1) is distributed not only in print but also through the web to a wide audience. Its pages provide a record of the changes in medical science and society during that period. The anniversary issue includes "A Reader's Guide to 200 Years of the New England Journal of Medicine" and an interactive timeline.

In addition, see their anniversary site for more delving into medical history as revealed by study of NEJM published articles. You can vote monthly to select the most important articles, take the historical image challenges, and even share your own story.

A Physician's Bill -- Life in the 19th Century American South

This new online display from the Historical Collections of the University of Virginia's Health Science Library explores life and medical practice in Charlottesville, Virginia, in the mid 19th Century, inspired by an 1848 fee schedule drawn up by 10 physicians.

“Physician Price Fixing in 19th Century Virginia”

"What would you pay for a house visit from a doctor whose office was within a mile of where you lived? How about a dollar with one prescription thrown in for good measure? Or maybe you need your tonsils out. Fifteen dollars will do it. Have a broken arm? Ten dollars will take care of setting it, unless it is a compound fracture and then it would be twice as much. A dollar will cover the extraction of a tooth."

This was a time when "ether anesthesia had just been introduced into medicine less than two years previously and chloroform just a year earlier, so painless surgery was not widely available."


Websites Referenced:
http://blog.hsl.virginia.edu/feebill/
http://blog.hsl.virginia.edu/feebill/essays/
http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/exhibits.cfm

History of Dallas Medicine Online Exhibit Opens at UTSW Library

Dallas Medical History, 1890-1975: A Digital Collection has been unveiled on the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Library website. It includes two parts, a collection of 500 images from the UT Southwestern Archives and History of Medicine collections in that Library and a more detailed exhibit of 60 selected Medical Care Milestones in Dallas, 1890-1975 . Although focused mostly on Southwestern, St. Paul and Parkland it includes other Dallas hospitals. Find 3 shots of TSRHC by searching "scottish" in their search boxes.

According to the archivist for the project "the CONTENTdm software used for the repository allows users to download images for use in PowerPoint presentations. The exhibit’s OMEKA software allows users to share photos with others on Facebook."

If for non-commercial, personal, or research use, materials may be reproduced (printed, photocopied, or downloaded) without prior permission. Unless another source for the item is noted, please credit Library, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas as the source.

For more information, contact the Archivist and History of Medicine Librarian, at the Library, UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The project was developed through a grant from the National Library of Medicine to the Archives and History of Medicine collection at UT Southwestern.

On a related topic, an article from Science describes the beginnings of the Southwestern Medical School and its research program back in 1951.

Websites referenced:
www.utsouthwestern.edu/dallasmedicalhistory
http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/speccol/dmh/
http://utswlibrary.contentdm.oclc.org/
http://utswlibrary.omeka.net/
http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/vgn/images/portal/cit_56417/42/16/176866Science_Article_Web.pdf http://www8.utsouthwestern.edu/utsw/cda/dept117179/files/117281.html
http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/library/speccol/