TEACHING SOCIAL MEDICINE: Education in Social Medicine at the Medical Faculty in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 1945 to 1999

Abstract

This article explores the history of social medicine education from 1945 to 1999 at the medical faculty of Utrecht, the Netherlands. It seeks to understand what kind of social medicine educators constructed, and how they integrated social medicine’s academic and practical components. The article argues that, although many have declared its demise during the twentieth century, social medicine did not disappear from the medical curriculum. Instead, its purpose was transformed. The article distinguishes four tools relevant to social medicine education. The first three tools, ‘Roadmap to Health Landscape’, ‘Recipes for Research’, and ‘Social Engagement Manual’ were aimed to provide students with general tools for their future careers. However, from the 1970s onwards, social medicine lost its scientific appeal and educational reforms increasingly oriented medical education towards practice. Consequently, a fourth tool, ‘Handbook for Social Physicians’ gained prominence in the 1990s. Social medicine changed from a general to a specialised subject.