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Vital Signs

Then & Now

A reminder of the pace of change, and of timeless truths, from the Fall 1990 issue of Dartmouth Medicine:

"In 1990," wrote Dr. John Kitzhaber, "Americans will spend $650 billion on health care. Yet 19 countries have lower infant mortality rates and 26 have better cardiovascular statistics." The cause of the discrepancies, said Kitzhaber, "is not a lack of money, but rather some fatal, systemic flaws in the American health-care system."

Kitzhaber, a 1969 Dartmouth graduate who was then president of the Oregon senate and later the state's governor, went on to explain his efforts to reform Oregon's medical payment system. Today, the National Coalition on Health Care estimates U.S. health-care expenditures at $1.8 trillion.


A reminder of the pace of change, and of timeless truths, from the 1912-13 DMS course catalogue:


"The minimum requirement for admission to Dartmouth Medical School is by two years of College work. . . Applicants must demonstrate their ability to translate at sight easy Latin prose."

$125
Tuition for each of four courses in 1912-13 (compared to $34,498 per year in 2005-06)



"The Nathan Smith Laboratory is a modern brick building of two and onehalf stories. . . . The upper floor contains a students' laboratory with gas and running water. . . . All the rooms are well lighted by closely placed windows."


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