The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

44 The Health Bulletin June, 1951years was primarily a publishing arm ofthe Venereal Disease Division of theUnited States Public Health Service, itreceived a modest subsidy from thatsource until July 1, 1949. The NorthCarolina State Board of Health providedquarters and some financial assistanceuntil June 30, 1946.The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation,because of its interest in health andmedical education, contributed annualgifts to the Institute until June 30, 1946.At this time, its annual gifts were terminatedand replaced by a more generousbut non-recurring capital revolvingfund. Since July 1, 1949, except for thecontinued availability of the ReynoldsFoundation capital revolving fund, theInstitute has relied entirely on the salesof its materials and services for its financialsupport.Some 1950 AccomplishmentsDuring the year 1950, the Institutebecame more firmly established andmore imiversally recognized as nationalheadquarters for health educational materials.Circulation of its various healtheducation media attained a total of 1,000-000 copies per month. These materialswere used by health departments inevery American state and more than adozen foreign countries. Approximately200 different types of media were involved.One especially noteworthy achievementduring 1950 is the extent to whichthe Institute has become recognized asa publisher of proceedings of medicalconferences. Notable illustrations ofthis publishing program are the NationConferences on Aging and the NationalConference on Chronic Illness.The Institute has been designated asthe official publisher of the proceedingsof both these groups. The papers, reportsand recommendations from thesetwo major medical gatherings will beused widely among the medical professionthroughout the United States.The Institute has also been designatedas the oflBcial publisher of the proceedingsand the other documents resultingfrom the Midcentury WhiteHouse Conference on Children andYouth held in Washington, D. C. inDecember.TOTAL PHYSICIANS IN U. S.AT ALL-TIME HIGH OF 209,040There were 209,040 physicians in continentalUnited States as of December15, 1950, an all-time high record, accordingto the annual medical licensurereport of the American MedicalAssociation.The report showed there were 6,002additions to the medical profession inthe United States and its possessionslast year. Against this there were 3,794deaths, making a net gain of 2,208 inthe physician population. This compareswith an addition of 5,866 physiciansin 1949, and a net gain of 2,266after allowing for 3,600 deaths.Made public in the Journal of thethe medicalA.M.A., the report detailedlicensure statistics for 1950. It was preparedby Dr. Donald G. Anderson ofChicago, secretary of the A.M.A. Councilon Medical Education and Hospitals,and Miss Anne Tipner, also of Chicago.The report presented evidence of thehigh medical training rating of themedical schools of the United States,all 72 of which now are approved bythe council.Of 4,955 graduates of the existingUnited States schools who last yeartook state board examinations to practicemedicine, 4,808 (97.1 per centt passed.The 1949 passing percentage was96.8 per cent.Against this record, only 673 of the1,248 graduates of other schools (53.9per cent) successfully passed their examinations.The percentage by othermedical schools was: Approved Canadianschools, 91.5; extinct schools, 93.3;foreign, 45.0; unapproved schools, nolonger existent, 37.8; schools of osteopathy,72.0. The overall passage was5,481 out of a total of 6,203 examined,or 88.4 per cent. The 1949 percentagewas 87.5.