The Flexner Report, published in 1910, reported on.

Question

Options

• ADisease trends
• BStandards of training in medical schools
• CRates of deaths in U.S. hospitals
• DThe state of medical specialization

• A
  3% (2)
• B
  86% (50)
• C
  9% (5)
• D
  2% (1)

Explanation

Option B is correct because Abraham Flexner was commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation to evaluate the quality of medical education across North America, and his 1910 report exposed widespread inadequacies in how medical schools trained physicians - leading to sweeping reforms that standardized curricula, raised admission requirements, and shuttered substandard schools.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A (Disease trends): Epidemiological tracking was not Flexner's focus; that falls under public health surveillance bodies like the CDC.
• C (Hospital death rates): Flexner examined schools, not hospital mortality statistics - that type of data was the domain of other reformers and early hospital accreditation efforts.
• D (Medical specialization): Specialization as a formal system developed later in the 20th century; Flexner's era was concerned with basic medical training, not specialty divisions.

Memory tip: Think of "Flexner" as rhyming with "education flexer" - he flexed the standards of medical education, forcing schools to shape up or shut down.

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