A Short History of Modern Internal Medicine

This book traces the remarkable advances in internal medicine that took place during the medical career of the author. Large part medical history and small part memoir, the book proposes that the extent and pace of these advances far outstrip any previous advances made in medicine and that the advances have contributed to a striking increase in life expectancy in Australia. In addition, in only five decades, Australia's large public hospitals were transformed into world class academic institutions. These advances have come with several negative consequences including fragmentation of the practice of medicine, increasingly stressful elements of the lives of junior doctors in training, and distortion of the remuneration structure of med ical practice which may be deterring new medical graduates from entering general practice. Advances in technology and associated specialisation may also have undermined crucial components of good medical practice, especially the need to always consider the whole person and to seek to practise humane medicine.