Joseph Hersey Pratt, M.D.: The Man Who Would Be Osler

Joseph Hersey Pratt (1872-1956) was a member of the second class of the Johns Hopkins Medical School, where he became a devoted student of William Osler and life-long disciple. Pratt received his medical degree in 1898 and spent his professional career in Boston. He maintained a close association with Osler until the latter\u27s death in 1919, when Osler\u27s deification as a secular medical saint began. When Pratt died in 1956 at age 83, the Boston Globe eulogized him in an editorial which read, Dr. Pratt earned a place in the group of Boston medical immortals who have done so much to raise the whole standard of medicine in this country (Figure 1). Pratt made two significant contributions to American medicine: (1) he originated the medical practice of group therapy; and (2) he helped establish Boston\u27s New England Medical Center. In the 1930s he also pioneered there a novel, non-analytical approach for treating psychoneuroses, but this contribution has been obscured by later more enterprising psychologists and psychiatrists who from 1960s on publicized their own forms of what now is termed behavioral psychotherapy. This essay reviews briefly Pratt\u27s career, focuses mainly on his several medical contributions, and compares the lives of these two memorable physicians

The Secret Kappa Lambda Society of Hippocrates (and the Origin of the American Medical Association's Principles of Medical Ethics).

This paper relates the neglected history of an idealistic, secret medical fraternity which existed briefly in Lexington, Kentucky, during the first half of the 19th century. It was created for students in the Medical Department at Transylvania University, the fifth US medical school, founded in 1799. One goal of the fraternity was to counter the widespread dissension and often violent quarrels among doctors that characterized American medicine of that period. And to that end, it was among the first to promote Thomas Percival's code of medical ethics in this country. Branches of the fraternity were established in Philadelphia and New York City, where members became influential in local medical politics but in time encountered hostility from rival physicians. The secret character of the fraternity branches was publicized and maligned during an anti-Masonic movement in this country in the 1830s, which soon led to the demise of the Philadelphia group. The New York branch remained active through the 1860s. Members of both branches were among those who in 1847 established the American Medical Association and devised its Principles of Medical Ethics

Neuroangiogenesis: A Vascular Basis for Alzheimer\u27s Disease and Cognitive Decline during Aging

Angiogenesis directs development of the brain\u27s microcirculation during antenatal and postnatal development, but its role later in life is less well recognized. I contend that during senescence a reduced cerebral capillary density accounts in part for the vascular cognitive impairment observed in many older persons and possibly for some forms of Alzheimer\u27s disease. I propose that neuroangiogenesis is essential throughout adult life for maintaining the microcirculation of the cerebral cortex and elsewhere in the brain and that it commonly declines with old age. To support this hypothesis I have examined the neurological literature for relevant studies on cerebral capillary density and neuroangiogenesis throughout the three stages of life and in persons with senile dementias. Finally, I discuss therapeutic approaches employing angiogenic factors for treating vascular cognitive impairment and Alzheimer\u27s disease

Higher Education and Prospects of Graduates’ Employability in Tanzania

This paper is about the challenges of employment for graduates of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Tanzania which has been a serious issue of concern for both the students, parents, universities, the government, and the public.  With the rapid expansion of higher education in Tanzania, there is a widely shared concern that graduates face substantial difficulties in the job search and are often forced to accept unfavourable early employment. This article focuses on the relationship between higher education and the employability of graduates. It draws on statistics and a critical review of the literature. Employability of graduate students has been understood as a collection of capacities or achievements, which constitute a necessary but not sufficient condition for getting employed. Using Tanzania as a case study, the paper, therefore, analyses the extent to which the HEIs in the country do foster competencies relevant for employment and work, and the extent of readiness of these institutions in fostering more “employable” competencies of their graduates. Keywords: higher education; employability; university governance, university of the future; labour market DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-9-19 Publication date:March 31st 202