Abraham Flexner (November 13, 1866 – September 21, 1959), an American educator, became best known for his role in the 20th-century reform of medical and higher education in the United States and Canada.

After founding and directing a college-preparatory school in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, Flexner published a critical assessment of the state of the American educational system in 1908 titled The American College: A Criticism. His work attracted the Carnegie Foundation to commission from him an in-depth evaluation into 155 medical schools in the US and Canada. His resulting Flexner Report, published in 1910, sparked the reform of medical education in the United States and Canada. He was the first in his family to complete high school and go on to college. He did not, however, complete work on an advanced degree at either institution.

Personal life

Flexner had three brothers named Jacob, Bernard and Simon Flexner. He also had a sister named Rachel Flexner.

The success of Abraham Flexner's experimental schooling allowed him to help finance Simon Flexner's medical education at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He proceeded to become a pathologist, bacteriologist and a medical researcher employed by the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research from 1901 to 1935.

His book attracted the attention of Henry Pritchett, president of the Carnegie Foundation, who was looking for someone to lead a series of studies of professional education. The book consistently cited Pritchett in discussions of views on educational reform, and the two soon arranged to meet through the then-president of Johns Hopkins University, Ira Remsen. Although Flexner had never set foot inside a medical school, he was Pritchett's first choice to lead a study of American medical education, and soon joined the research staff at the Carnegie Foundation in 1908. Although not a physician himself, Flexner was selected by Pritchett for his writing ability and his disdain for traditional education. His position was:

Ironically, one of the schools, Louisville National Medical College, was located in Flexner's hometown. In response to the report, some schools fired senior faculty members in a process of reform and renewal.

Influence on Europe

Flexner soon conducted a related study of medical education in Europe. According to Bonner (2002), Flexner's work came to be "nearly as well known in Europe as in America."

Universities: American, English, German

In his 1930 Universities: American, English, German, Flexner returned to his earlier interest in the direction and purpose of the American university, attacking distractions from serious learning, such as intercollegiate athletics, student government, and other student activities.

Legacy

  • The Flexner Report and his work in education has had a lasting impact on medical and higher education. The specific impacts of the Flexner Report on American and Canadian medicine include:
  • Average physician quality has increased significantly
  • Medicine has become a lucrative and well-respected profession
  • A physician must receive at minimum six years, preferably eight years of post-secondary education, typically in a university setting
  • Medical education is based on research, specifically in the fields of human physiology and biochemistry
  • Medical research follows the same protocols as scientific research In 2020, "in light of racist and sexist writings" the AAMC renamed the award, removing Flexner's name.
  • The University of Kentucky College of Medicine has the Academy of Medical Educator Excellence in Medical Education Award, which was formerly named the Abraham Flexner Master Educator Award, to recognize achievement in six categories:
  • Educational Leadership and Administration
  • Outstanding Teaching Contribution or Mentorship
  • Educational Innovation and Curriculum Development
  • Educational Evaluation and Research
  • Faculty Development in Education
  • Abraham Flexner Way in downtown Louisville's hospital district was named by the Louisville Board of Aldermen in November 1978 to honor Flexner.

Bibliography

  • 1908. The American College: A Criticism
  • 1910. Medical Education in the United States and Canada.
  • 1910. Medical Education in the United States and Canada (at Google Books).
  • 1912. Medical education in Europe; a report to the Carnegie foundation for the advancement of teaching.
  • 1915. "Is Social Work a Profession?" Proceedings of the National Conference of Charities and Correction at the Forty-second annual session held in Baltimore, Maryland, May 12–19, 1915.
  • 1916. A Modern School.
  • 1916 (with Frank P. Bachman). Public Education in Maryland: A Report to the Maryland Educational Survey Commission.
  • 1918 (with F.B. Bachman). The Gary Schools.
  • 1927 "Do Americans Really Value Education?" The Inglis Lecture 1927(Harvard University Press)
  • 1928. The Burden of Humanism. The Taylorian Lecture at Oxford University.
  • 1930. Universities: American, English, German.
  • 1939. Flexner Abraham (1939 June/November). The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge. Harpers, Issue 179, pp. 544–552. [https://www.ias.edu/sites/default/files/library/UsefulnessHarpers.pdf].
  • 1940. I Remember: The Autobiography of Abraham Flexner. Simon and Schuster. Fulltext
  • 1943. A biography of H.S. Pritchett.

See also

  • Charles Flexner (born 1956), American physician, clinical pharmaceutical scientist, academic, author and researcher
  • James Thomas Flexner (1908–2003), American historian and biographer
  • Simon Flexner (1863–1946), physician, scientist, administrator, and professor

References

Further reading

  • Bonner, Thomas Neville, 2002. Iconoclast: Abraham Flexner and a Life in Learning. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press. . online
  • Nevins, Michael, 2010. Abraham Flexner: A Flawed American Icon. iUniverse. .
  • Starr, Paul, 1982. The Social Transformation of American Medicine. Basic Books. .
  • Wheatley, S. C., 1989. The Politics of Philanthropy: Abraham Flexner and Medical Education. University of Wisconsin Press. .
  • Amy E. Wells: "Flexner, Abraham (1866–1959)." In: Encyclopedia of Education. 2002.
  • Biography of Flexner from the Institute of Advanced Studies
  • "Abraham Flexner and the era of medical education reform" (critically places Flexner and his contributions within the context of social and educational reform of the time)
  • Full text of the "Medical education in the United States and Canada; a report to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching"