Professionalizing Medicine: James Reeves and the Choices That Shaped American Health Care 1st Edition

Fascinating, thorough, well researched history of a fascinating individual, James Reeves, who made a major impact on the initial beginnings of the regulation of medical practice and the public health movement in America. The read was very pleasurable, and introduced me to a part of history that is not well represented in historical literature. The book humanized the forefathers of medical practice regulation, and showed them as people, warts and all. I also enjoyed the discussion of the patent medicine problem in the 18 century and the manipulation of the the lay press as well as the foibles of the emerging medical press. It is good to revisit the tremendous advances made with introduction of the germ theory of disease, and the initial resistance to this new knowledge. These are lessons we still need to learn today. I would heartily recommend that you buy this book.

I learned a lot about the history of medicine from "Professionalizing Medicine" and it was not all pretty. The history of our profession reveals more back-stabbing and self-absorbed charlatans the I ever imagined. I am in awe of James Reeves' belief in himself and his ability to be unswayed by controversy or confrontation. He was a real medical "Profile in Courage." This book should be an inspiration to physicians and administrators alike who are charged with the responsibility of policing medicine. Human nature may point us in the direction of self-interests, but if we truly aspire to be a noble profession we must rise above such temptations for the better good of our patients. We must preserve the clarion call of "Professionalizing Medicine" : Public health is public wealth. I recommend this book very highly.

This book should be required reading for all our politicians who claim to have knowledge of how decisions were made 100 years ago and how decisions are made now. “What we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history” Dr Harris shows how difficult it was for Dr Reeves to clean the streets and foods while we fight over alcohol, tobacco, asbestos, and food additives that aren’t stated on labels( those GRAS or generally recognized as safe substances) which make poison foods appear safe and mask their rotten characteristicso. The work Involved in collecting and documenting these difficulties should be recognized if we are to achieve our potential