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Vital Signs

Then & Now

A reminder of the pace of change, and of timeless truths, from a 1961 publication titled Medical Education and Dartmouth:

"Unfortunately the good health Americans have come to take for granted is threatened by an imminent critical shortage of doctors. This alarming conclusion was reached in November 1959 by a special Consultant Group appointed by the U.S. Surgeon General."

141
Ratio of doctors per 100,000 people in 1961

228
Ratio of doctors per 100,000 people in 2000

30%
Increase over 2002 medical school enrollments now called for by some experts, who fear a shortfall of physicians by 2025


A reminder of the pace of change, and of timeless truths, from the Spring 1984 issue of this magazine:

"In an effort to broaden its range of services and strengthen the clinical faculty in maternal and child health, [DHMC] has instituted a program of certified nurse midwifery. . . . A team of four midwives . . . [is] offering a wide range of services to interested individuals and families."

1931
Year the first U.S. school for nurse midwives was established

1983
Year the nurse midwifery service opened at DHMC

9
Number of certified nurse midwives now practicing at DHMC


A reminder of the pace of change, and of timeless truths, from the 1960 Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital (MHMH) Annual Review:

Dr. Sven Gundersen wrote: "These are challenging times in medicine from many points of view, including scientific, socioeconomic, political, and philosophic. . . . In the final analysis, a hospital will prosper mainly in relation to the quality of its professional staff, that is, the ability, training, integrity, motivations, and dedi cation of its members."

890
MHMH employees in FY60

6,841
Dartmouth-Hitchcock employees in FY08

63
Residents in FY60

366
Residents/fellows in FY08


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