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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