Ludmerer: Wrote "Time to Heal"
By Diane Duke Williams
May 18, 2001
Kenneth M. Ludmerer, M.D., professor of medicine and of history in Arts & Sciences, recently received the first Daniel C. Tosteson Award for Leadership in Medical Education.
The award recognizes major contributions to medical education at a national level and carries a $10,000 honorarium. It is given by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Carl J. Shapiro Institute for Education and Research at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
| Ludmerer: Wrote "Time to Heal" |
The award honors Daniel C. Tosteson, M.D., former dean of the faculty of Harvard Medical School and the creator of the New Pathway curriculum, a problem-solving, case-method approach to learning.
"Virtually any serious discussion about the challenges confronting medical education at the turn of the century starts with a consideration of the issues raised so eloquently by Dr. Ludmerer in his landmark book," said Steven E. Weinberger, M.D., executive director of the Carl J. Shapiro Institute for Education and Research. "'Time to Heal' has been called one of the most important publications in the fields of medical history and education ever to be published in this country or elsewhere."
"Time to Heal: American Medical Education in the 20th Century" (1999) provides a history of American medical education from the beginning of the 20th century through the present era of managed care. The book also describes the effects of recent trends in the medical marketplace on teaching, research and patient care, and suggests alternatives that would better serve the public interest. It has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Ludmerer has written two previous books. His first, "Genetics and American Society: A Historical Appraisal," (1972) was published while he was completing a junior rotation in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University. His second, "Learning to Heal: The Development of American Medical Education," (1985) chronicles the creation of America's system of medical education and also was nominated for a Pulitzer.
Ludmerer was born in Long Beach, Calif., and earned a bachelor's degree in history and science in 1968 from Harvard University. He then went to Johns Hopkins, where he earned a master's degree in the history of medicine in 1971 and a medical degree in 1973.
He joined Washington University in 1976 as instructor of medicine. He was named associate professor of medicine and associate professor of history in 1986, and he was promoted to professor of medicine and professor of history in 1992.
Among his many honors, Ludmerer received the Nicholas E. Davies Memorial Award from the American College of Physicians in 1997. On June 8, he will receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Johns Hopkins.
Ludmerer is vice president and president-elect of the American Association for the History of Medicine and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American College of Physicians. He also is a member of the national honorary medical society Alpha Omega Alpha, the Association of American Physicians, the History of Science Society and the Organization of American Historians.
He has served on the editorial boards of a number of professional journals and delivered named lectures at more than 90 educational institutions or professional societies.
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