Practicing Medicine in 1917 Rhode Island

Using editorials published in the Rhode Island Medical Journal's inaugural year, this article examines what it meant to practice medicine in Rhode Island in 1917. One hundred years ago, the state's medical community was undergoing rapid transformation epitomized by a turn toward the germ theory of disease, ongoing education and hospital reform, and a growing sense of the profession's political and social role. In many ways, the social and professional concerns of Rhode Island physicians in 1917 continue to resonate today. Physicians writing in the Journal were excited by but concerned about technological advancement in medicine, debating how new institutions and sites of care would shape their interactions with patients. They were also influenced by broader social changes affecting the medical profession, expressing ambivalence toward regulation, debating the implications of social insurance and compulsory health insurance, and reflecting on their financial livelihood and the social prestige of their profession. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-12.asp].