Medical School of the University of Nashville and the University of Tennessee Records
This collection contains materials documenting the University of Nashville and the University of Tennessee's joint medical school in Nashville, which operated from 1909 to 1911. Admission Records list the patient's name, age, date and time admitted and dismissed, parents' names (if admitted by the parents), address, fees, and amount paid. The Operating Room Record documents the name of the procedure and the doctor who performed it. The Daily Report Book records the number of patients admitted and dismissed, the type of care provided, the number of staff present, and the cost of items and services purchased (including medical supplies, groceries, cleaning products, hardware, and laundry). The Payroll Record lists the employee's name, occupation, wage, amount paid, and signature. The General Inventory accounts for all hospital needs, including furniture, telephones, operating room furniture, surgical supplies, instruments, and linens. The collection also contains checkbooks and receipt books used from 1909 to 1911.
Dates
- 1909-1911
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
3 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection contains materials documenting the University of Nashville and the University of Tennessee's joint medical school in Nashville, which operated from 1909 to 1911. These materials include patient information, operating procedures, and names of doctors. Some of the records are administrative and cover payments received, supply inventories, and employee wages.
Biographical/Historical Note
The medical department of the University of Tennessee had its roots in the 1850s. During this time, two doctors began a medical school in Nashville and associated themselves with the University of Nashville. In the 1870s, Nashville Medical College opened its doors and quickly became affiliated with the University of Tennessee. The College organized a Dental department in 1878 and by 1909 boasted three programs of study.
In 1909, the University of Tennessee, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Nashville began considering consolidating their medical units. Vanderbilt was unable to agree to the merger, but the other two institutions combined their programs to become the Medical School of the University of Nashville and the University of Tennessee. Their teaching hospital was the Tennessee Hospital, located at 614 Broadway in Nashville. The program operated during the 1909-1910 school year, but the arrangement proved to be difficult. Construction of a planned new teaching hospital was delayed due to funding problems, and Abraham Flexner (director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research) declared in 1910 that, with the exception of Vanderbilt, Tennessee medical schools were worthless. The General Assembly rejected funding for the program in 1911, and as a result the new hospital was never built. Already in significant debt, the University of Nashville sold all of its equipment to the University of Tennessee, which moved its program to Memphis to avoid the difficulties attendant upon maintaining a program in Nashville.
Arrangement
This collection consists of two boxes.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository