Preventive Medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine, 1940-49 *

In 1940 the Yale University School of Medicine began an experiment in the field of medical education by creating a Section of Preventive Medicine, as a division of its Department of Internal Medicine.' No claim is made for priority with regard to this move, or that the idea was new, or that it should be repeated elsewhere. There was discussion at that time as to what the newly created division of the School should be called; what its functions should be; what place it should occupy among other departments of the School and how it could be integrated with other Medical School activities in general. Indeed the choice of the name-Section of Preventive Medicine -was not unanimous, for it was recognized that this term "preventive medicine" leaves much to be desired' and is actually no better than another somewhat boastful, but less familiar term, "curative medicine." Nevertheless, common usage of the term preventive medicine has increased, and this has led to its wide acceptance in this country. Apparently any effort today which aims at the prevention of disease is popularly called preventive medicine. Actually such details of nomenclature and academic organization are not important-the basic decision is whether to regard preventive medicine as a medical specialty like public health, or a vague non-medical subject, like human welfare with applications in all branches of medical science,8 or whether to assume that preventive medicine is actually part of clinical medicine and goes to make up what is today called comprehensive medicine or holistic medicine.' The last interpretation is the one now followed at Yale.