The Age of Specialization
The first half of the twentieth century saw the emergence of the major specialties
of medicine, each with its defined training program and its qualifying examination.
Technological progress was rapid and investment in research produced good
dividends. Medical education became increasingly oriented toward laboratory
science and the technology of medicine. The increasing prestige accorded to specialists
and the valuation of technical and research skills over personal care made
general practice unpopular as a career.
The number of general practitioners declined steadily from the 1930s, both in
absolute terms and as a proportion of the profession as a whole. The process was
accelerated by the virtual disappearance of general practitioners from medical