University at Buffalo - Buffalonian Yearbook (Buffalo, NY)

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Buffalo school were men of equal attainments, and in no whit allowed the standard to tall. Dr. Moore remained in the chair of surgery for nearly 30 years, adding lustre equally to the College and to himself by his great achievements. Dr. Rochester con- tinued in the chair of practice for even a longer period, and was widely known, and loved by all who came in contact with him. In 1859 Dr. Austin Flint, Ir., took the chair of physiology, but retained it for only one year. He was succeeded by Dr. Wm. H. Mason, of Norwich, Conn. ln 1867 Dr. Julius F. Miner, a name which has always been held in high esteem by the alumni of this college, assumed the chair of special surgery. This he held until his sickness in 1882. This was the Hrst addition tothe faculty above the number of seven which had been made since its foundation, At the death of Dr. White, in 1881, a great change came to the College. The older men, soon after that, were supplanted by younger and, therefore, more energetic teach- ers. Dr. Matthew D. Mann, of Hartford, succeeded Dr. Whiteg Dr. R. A.Witthaus, of New York, took the chair of chemistry, and Dr. Roswell Park was brought from Chicago to take the chair of surgery. In 1880 Dr. Pohlman succeeded to the chair of physiology, and the following year Dr. Charles G. Stockton succeeded Dr. Rochester. The faculty at this time laid it down as a rule that henceforth all new appointees in the schools must be residents of Buffalo, and after the resignation of Dr. Stoddart, of Rochester, from the chair of materia medica, which he had held with distinguished 'honor for 15 years, this rule was carried out. Dr. Cary filled Dr. Stoddart's chair, being transferred from the chair of anatomy, which he had held since 1878, and Drs. john Parmenter and Herbert M. Hill lilled the chairs respectively in anatomy and chemistry. Thus, in the course of eight years, an entire change had taken place in the faculty. Not one of the chairs was nlled by its old incumbent, and the conduct of the school was entrusted to a young, energetic and progressive set of men. The result of this infusion of new blood was soon manifested. New courses of instruction were introduced, the adjunct faculty was largely added to, and in the course of a few years the corps of instructors was enlarged from the original seven so as to include nearly 50. In this way a great interest in the College was excited in the pro- fession , younger men were put in training for promotion, and the course of instruction was greatly enlarged and perfected. A new spirit seemed to enthuse all, and the progress of the College was very rapid. In 1890 it became quite evident that the old school was entirely inadequate for the needs of the institution. In 1891, therefore, the Council determined that a new building should be erected, and through the energy and untiring industry of one mem- ber of the faculty and of the Council, Dr. Charles Cary, a suflicient sum of money was obtained to Warrant the beginning of the erection of the new building. This was com- pleted at the cost of 3i150,000, and was iirst occupied on january 6, 1893. The faculty had long realized that the course of instruction was entirely inade- quate. The old building contained almost no laboratories, no recitation rooms, no con- veniences of any sort for anything more than didactic lectures. With the completion of the new building greater conveniences were added. It was thus made possible to 31

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extend the curriculum and to add very largely to the amount of practical work done. It was also felt that the course of two years was altogether too short. In 1891 it was lengthened to three years, and in 1896, in advance of the state law, a four years' course was made obligatory. In'1895 the University of Buffalo inaugurated a new Department of Pedagogy. Very soon the professors in this department began to exert an influence upon the other branches of the University, and many of the teachers in the Medical Department became much interested in the newer educational methods. As a result, a recitation course was inaugurated, the class being given stated lessons to recite upon. In this way the students come to their lectures in the third year much better prepared and in a much better position to appreciate that which they hear from the professors. The recitation courses are in charge of some of the younger members of the corps of instruc- tors. This has been found to be a very great advantage 3 and, although the students at first did not take to it, it has proven finally a great success. These recitations have been particularly successful where newer pedagogical methods have been introduced. The object has been to interest the students, and to lead them to study and investigate for themselves, to reason and think, rather than to induce them to simply commit so much matter to memory. The so-called seminar has also been introduced, and has added to the interest of the course of instruction. Clinical teaching has always been a prominent part of the teaching in this institu- tion. In the old days the Sisters of Charity Hospital supplied the material. Here it was that Flint made the observations upon typhoid fever which were the beginning of his reputation. The Sisters' Hospital was eventually moved away from the College, and has now been lost to it for purposes of teaching, but the Buffalo General Hospital, which has grown to be a very large institution, has supplied a great amount of clinical material. Here operations are done before the class, or before divisions of the class. Ward classes are conducted, and bedside instruction of the most careful nature given. The obstetric service of thehospital has been utilized to teach this branch in a practical way, the students being required each to attend one or more cases during their senior year. An Out-Patient Department has been established in the college building, thus collecting much valuable material for illustrating the college clinics. To sum up, we may say that the faculty has kept clearly in View the necessity for practical and personal instruction, and this has lately been made a prominent feature in the curriculum. Under the old system, men were turned out with a certain amount of theoretical knowledge, they were never put face to face with the patient, were never required to make a diagnosis or any kind of a physical examination. Theoreti- cally, the preceptors were required to teach this, practically, they did not do it. The result was that the young men who went out were obliged to get their first experience from their cases in practice. The necessity of obviating this unfortunate state of affairs has been ever kept in view, and it may be justly said that it has to a great extent been accomplished. 32