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Using and Accessing Primary Sources

Why learn about historical research?

There are many reasons to learn about the history of health sciences: 

  • Training in health sciences history and the humanities promotes humanistic skills and demonstrates the social, economic, and political contexts of its practice. 
  • History allows us to learn from failures or missteps of the past and embrace humility over arrogance. 
  • Observing a tradition of exemplary health science practices cultivates a sense of camaraderie as members of a profession and promotes a sense of civic responsibility by highlighting the broader role of health science professionals in society. 
  • Historical analysis enhances our understanding of, and widens our perspective on, diseases and institutions, teaches what and how to investigate, and may show the value of entertaining new and possibly strange ideas. 

 

Below, you'll find multiple OHSU competencies and learning outcomes mapped to various skills learned through the course of performing historical research. For assistance with mapping specific competencies for other programs, please contact Steve Duckworth, University Archivist.

Aligning with the OHSU curriculum

Conducting historical research and learning about historical research methods can benefit students in many ways. Studying history highlights the many social contexts and connections between a person and their healthcare. The following are some student learning outcomes (SLOs) a learner might meet in the analysis of health science history. Aspects of the SLOs listed below can apply to any of OHSU's Graduation Core Competencies, but we mapped each SLO to the most relevant Core Competencies (CCs).

In the study of health sciences history and analysis of historical sources, learners will be able to:

  1. Critically evaluate information and data. (CC: Information Literacy)
  2. Assess information from multiple angles and through varying points of view. (CCs: Information Literacy; Community Engagement, Social Justice and Equity)
  3. Collaborate with patients and other stakeholders, to find the ways to best improve health outcomes. (CCs: Patient Centered Care; Community Engagement, Social Justice and Equity)
  4. Employ a systems-thinking approach to problem solving. (CCs: Professional Knowledge and Skills; Community Engagement, Social Justice and Equity)
  5. Contribute to the development of new knowledge and practice through scholarly activity. (CC: Information Literacy)
  6. Describe the impact of psychosocial and cultural influences on healthcare. (CCs: Community Engagement, Social Justice and Equity; Patient Centered Care)
  7. Empathize, connect, and build trust with patients/stakeholders. (CCs: Community Engagement, Social Justice and Equity; Patient Centered Care; Communication)
  8. Describe how learning from the mistakes of the past informs our ethical choices today. (CCs: Professional Identity and Ethical Behavior; Information Literacy)

Conducting historical research and learning about historical research methods can benefit students in many ways. The following are some student learning outcomes (SLOs) a learner might meet in the analysis of health science history. Each SLO listed below has been mapped to the most relevant OHSU School of Dentistry competencies.

In the study of health sciences history and analysis of historical sources, learners will be able to:

  1. Critically evaluate information and data. (FK7, PA3, TP1)
  2. Assess information from multiple angles and through varying points of view. (PA3, TP1)
  3. Collaborate with patients and other stakeholders, to find the ways to best improve health outcomes. (COM1, COM2, TP1)
  4. Employ a systems-thinking approach to problem solving. (PA3, TP1)
  5. Contribute to the development of new knowledge and practice through scholarly activity. (EVAL1)
  6. Describe the impact of psychosocial and cultural influences on healthcare. (COM1, COM2, TP2, EVAL2)
  7. Empathize, connect, and build trust with patients/stakeholders. (PA1)
  8. Describe how learning from the mistakes of the past informs our ethical choices today. (PC4, EVAL1)

Conducting historical research and learning about historical research methods can benefit students in many ways. The following are some student learning outcomes (SLOs) a learner might meet in the analysis of health science history. Each SLO listed below has been mapped to the most relevant Essentials of Master's Education in Nursing, from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

In the study of health sciences history and analysis of historical sources, learners will be able to:

  1. Critically evaluate information and data. (I.4, IV.3, IV.6, IX.2)
  2. Assess information from multiple angles and through varying points of view. (I.5, III.1)
  3. Collaborate with patients and other stakeholders, to find the ways to best improve health outcomes. (III.4, IX.3, IX.4)
  4. Employ a systems-thinking approach to problem solving. (I.7, II.4, II.6)
  5. Contribute to the development of new knowledge and practice through scholarly activity. (II.2, V.6, IX.14)
  6. Describe the impact of psychosocial and cultural influences on healthcare. (II.3, III.8, VI.1, VIII.1, IX.9)
  7. Empathize, connect, and build trust with patients/stakeholders. (VII.3, VIII.3, IX.13)
  8. Describe how learning from the mistakes of the past informs our ethical choices today. (I.8, IV.2, V.3, VI.3)

Conducting historical research and learning about historical research methods can benefit students in many ways. The following are some student learning outcomes (SLOs) a learner might meet in the analysis of health science history. Each SLO listed below has been mapped to the most relevant Educational Outcomes of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

In the study of health sciences history and analysis of historical sources, learners will be able to:

  1. Critically evaluate information and data. (1.1)
  2. Assess information from multiple angles and through varying points of view. (1.1, 3.4)
  3. Collaborate with patients and other stakeholders, to find the ways to best improve health outcomes. (2.3, 3.2, 3.3)
  4. Employ a systems-thinking approach to problem solving. (3.1)
  5. Contribute to the development of new knowledge and practice through scholarly activity. (4.4)
  6. Describe the impact of psychosocial and cultural influences on healthcare. (2.4, 3.5)
  7. Empathize, connect, and build trust with patients/stakeholders. (3.5)
  8. Describe how learning from the mistakes of the past informs our ethical choices today. (4.4)

Conducting historical research and learning about historical research methods can benefit students in many ways. The following are some student learning outcomes (SLOs) a learner might meet in the analysis of health science history. Each SLO listed below has been mapped to the most relevant MPH Foundational Competencies from the Accreditation Criteria of the Council on Education for Public Health (p.17).

In the study of health sciences history and analysis of historical sources, learners will be able to:

  1. Critically evaluate information and data. (3, 4)
  2. Assess information from multiple angles and through varying points of view. (18, 19, 21)
  3. Collaborate with patients and other stakeholders, to find the ways to best improve health outcomes. (8, 9)
  4. Employ a systems-thinking approach to problem solving. (11)
  5. Contribute to the development of new knowledge and practice through scholarly activity. (21, 22)
  6. Describe the impact of psychosocial and cultural influences on healthcare. (6, 7, 8)
  7. Empathize, connect, and build trust with patients/stakeholders. (18, 19, 20)
  8. Describe how learning from the mistakes of the past informs our ethical choices today. (12, 15)

Conducting historical research and learning about historical research methods can benefit students in many ways. The following are some student learning outcomes (SLOs) a learner might meet in the analysis of health science history. Each SLO listed below has been mapped to the most relevant of the OHSU School of Medicine UME Program Competencies.

In the study of health sciences history and analysis of historical sources, learners will be able to:

  1. Critically evaluate information and data. (PC2, PLI4, 3PD11)
  2. Assess information from multiple angles and through varying points of view. (PC2, PLI4, 3PD11)
  3. Collaborate with patients and other stakeholders, to find the ways to best improve health outcomes. (PC5)
  4. Employ a systems-thinking approach to problem solving. (MK5, PIC1)
  5. Contribute to the development of new knowledge and practice through scholarly activity. (PLI1, PLI4, PLI7)
  6. Describe the impact of psychosocial and cultural influences on healthcare. (PC5, MK4, ICS1)
  7. Empathize, connect, and build trust with patients/stakeholders. (ICS1, ICS3, 3PD4)
  8. Describe how learning from the mistakes of the past informs our ethical choices today. (3PD2, 3PD3, 3PD5)

Abbreviations used above for competency designation:

  • Patient care and procedures (PC)
  • Medical Knowledge (Knowledge for Practice) (MK)
  • Practice-based Learning and Improvement (PLI)
  • Interpersonal and Communication Skills (ICS)
  • Professionalism and Personal & Professional Development (3PD)
  • System-based Practice and Interprofessional Collaboration (PIC)

Additional resources and perspectives

Jones, David S., Jeremy A. Greene, Jacalyn Duffin, and John Harley Warner. “Making the Case for History in Medical Education: Fig. 1.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 70, no. 4 (2014): 623–52. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/jru026. (Open access: https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/1/34310034/1/35654940.pdf) 

Kushner, Howard I. “History as a Medical Tool.” The Lancet 371, no. 9612 (February 2008): 552–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60259-7.

Kushner, Howard I. “Medical Historians and the History of Medicine.” The Lancet 372, no. 9640 (August 2008): 710–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61293-3.

Patel, Parth M, and Sukumar P Desai. “A Clinician's Rationale for the Study of History of Medicine.” The journal of education in perioperative medicine: JEPM 16, no, 4 (2014): E070. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4719553 (PDF: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.seahq.org/resource/resmgr/JEPM/XVI/XVI_4_Patel.pdf)

Sokol, Daniel K. “Perspective: Should We Amputate Medical History?:” Academic Medicine 83, no. 12 (December 2008): 1162–64. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e31818c6610.