Philadelphia Polyclinic Hospital and College for Graduates in Medicine records, 1897-1951 (bulk: 1905-1910).

Format:

Archive

Author/Creator:

Philadelphia Polyclinic and College for Graduates in Medicine, creator.

Contributor:

University of Pennsylvania, former owner.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Smith, James Somers, Jr.

Smith, James Somers.

Polyclinic Hospital (Philadelphia, Pa.). Ladies' Aid Society.

Polyclinic Hospital (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Hospitals.

Medical education--United States.

Medical education.

Genre:

scrapbooks

correspondence

financial records

Physical Description:

3 boxes (1.25 cubic feet)

Arrangement:

Organized into four series: I. Correspondence, II. Administrative records, III. Financial records, and IV. Clinical records. All series are arranged alphabetically.

Place of Publication:

1897-1951

Biography/History:

Philadelphia Polyclinic Hospital and College for Graduates in Medicine was a post-graduate medical school and hospital that operated between 1883 and 1918 in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. The school and hospital were part of the polyclinic movement of the late nineteenth century to provide graduates of undergraduate medical schools with greater clinical training. Philadelphia Polyclinic had its origin in 1878 when John B. Roberts, H. Augustus Wilson and Henry Leffman revived the Philadelphia School of Anatomy to offer practical instruction in various clinical specialties. By 1883 the doctors with the support of other city physicians were able to transform the School of Anatomy into the Philadelphia Polyclinic Hospital and College for Graduates in Medicine. Initially operating out of rented space, the Hospital and College moved into a converted four-story building at Broad and Lombard Streets in 1886. The popularity of the various clinical dispensaries with patents and students required frequent expansions and moves. By the end of the nineteenth century the clinics had grown into a full teaching hospital, with a new building being constructed in 1890 located at 18th and Lombard Streets. In 1894 a nursing school was added. As the school and hospital grew, it outpaced its initial funding sources requiring Philadelphia Polyclinic to seek funds from the Pennsylvania Legislature, hold annual donation days, and become a beneficiary of the Charity Ball of Philadelphia. The changes in medical education at the start of the twentieth century made the postgraduate specialty courses of Philadelphia Polyclinic redundant, reducing student enrollment, and impacting the institutions finances, despite the role the Polyclinic Hospital played in Rittenhouse neighborhood. In 1917 the Philadelphia Polyclinic and the Medico-Chirurgicall College and Hospital merged with the University of Pennsylvania to establish the Graduate School of Medicine and Graduate Hospital. For additional information on the history of Philadelphia Polyclinic see: Peitzman, Steven J., "'Thoroughly Practical': America's Polyclinic Medical Schools". Bulletin of the History of Medicine (Vol. 54, No. 2, 1980), pp. 166-187.

Summary:

The Philadelphia Polyclinic Hospital and College for Graduates in Medicine records document some of the activities of the hospital and post-graduate medical school during the first decade of the twentieth century. While there are some clinical and school records, the bulk of the collection focuses on the financial and administrative aspects of the institution. The records have been organized into four series: I. Correspondence consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence to members of the Board of Trustees. The majority of correspondence is to or from J. Somers Smith, Jr., who served as the secretary of the board. Topics covered include hospital real estate, finances, faculty relations with the board, and fund raising. II. Administrative records include lists, reports, pamphlets, flyers, fund raising documents, as well as a scrapbook. III. Financial records include a financial ledger, payment vouchers, and financial statements. IV. Clinical records consist of two casebooks from 1910 and 1911. All series are arranged alphabetically.