Medicine
William Osler
Physician, founder of modern medical education
Born 1849 · Died 1919
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · CC BY 4.0
«Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability.»
William Osler took medical students out of the lecture theatre and put them at the patient's bedside, creating the residency system used in hospitals worldwide. He was one of the four founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Key achievements
- Created the hospital residency system used worldwide
- Founding professor of Johns Hopkins Hospital, 1889
- His textbook was standard medical reading for forty years
Universities
Montreal, Quebec
Took his medical degree in 1872 and then taught there, reorganising how clinical medicine was taught.
Oxford, England
Regius Professor of Medicine from 1905 until his death.
Facts
- He said he wanted his epitaph to record only that he taught medical students in the wards.
- His textbook The Principles and Practice of Medicine was the standard work for forty years.
- He was a notorious practical joker and once published a hoax medical paper under a false name.
Photographs
Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; the author and licence are shown on each image.