Osler Stethoscope

Sir William Osler (July12, 1849 - December 29, 1919) was educted at McGill School of Medicine and revceived his clinical training at the Montreal General Hospital in Canada. He was one of the founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital and founder of the medical service at the hospital, creating the first residency program for training in the specialty of internal medicine. His textbook "The Principles and Practice of Medicine" published in 1892 was considered the prototype for medical eduaction and he is often referred to as the founding father of modern medicine. Dr. Olser wrote that "When I began clinical work in 1870, the Montreal General Hospital was an old coccus and rat-ridden building, but with two valuable assets for the students - much acute disease and a group of keen teachers (The Medical Clinic, British Medical Journal, January 3, 1914 )." Dr. Olser once said he hoped his tombstone would say only,"He brought medical students into the wards for bedside teaching." And his most notable teaching to his students at the bedside of patients was "Listen to your patient, he is telling you the diagnosis," emphasizing the importance of taking a thorough history as part of the complete examination of a patient.