Taking History and Vital Signs: Characterizing History of Medicine Efforts at Academic Medical Centers

To characterize efforts surrounding HOM/HS communities across the U.S., we identified the top thirty medical schools in both primary care and research using U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Rankings. We searched and browsed the websites provided by the institutions to collect information pertaining to any presence of an on-campus HOM/HS community. Upon identifying an HOM/HS community, we collected information about the group’s mission; the funding of the group; the membership structure; the typical activities and initiatives; the library’s involvement with the group; and any course offerings related to HOM/HS at the institution.FINDINGS: Several institutions appeared in both rankings, resulting in forty-five unique institutions. Non-curricular HOM groups were identified at eighteen institutions (40%). All groups stated some form of mission statement, or description of their function online, linked from the institution’s webpage. Sixteen of these specifically mention HOM in their name or mission. At least eleven of the groups received institutional funding directly and four mentioned receiving donor funds. Several groups fund endeavors themselves; three collected member dues from students, one of which listed dues as “voluntary.” Five indicated that they conduct fundraising events. Notably, only four groups reported membership as open to the public, although many events were public. Prominently, fifteen groups (83%) indicated the hosting of a lecture, presentation, or discussion. Eight of these fifteen indicated that meetings were catered. Five of the HOM/HS groups sponsored an academic contest.CONCLUSIONS: The OHSU Library plans to convene a meeting of currently engaged faculty, residents and students to discuss the findings and what examples from other institutions are relevant. We would then work with the Society and others to craft a “membership meeting” to reach potential members. Our Humanities Month programming and research by Historical Collections & Archives also inspired us to consider offering student enrichment opportunities for participating in hands-on activities with materials in their areas of special interes