NEW YORK, NY – The head of Columbia Medical School is concerned that the lack of statues of famous doctors throughout America may be hurting some students ability to learn about the history of medicine.
“If there is anything that recent events have taught us, its that statues are one of the most important ways that people learn about history,” said Dr. Paul Watson. “There is a only a very small number of statues and monuments on our campuses depicting great doctors and scientists and I fear this is leading to the current generation not knowing anything about medicine.”
Several people have argued against the idea put forth by Dr. Watson, instead insisting that medical students learn both current medical practices and the history of medicine through textbooks and lectures.
“I would of course love to see more monuments and statues of famous doctors and scientists, but I don’t think they are the key factor in a student’s learning process,” said Dr. Al Jones, a close friend of Dr. Watson.
There have already been several reports of students (in both medicine and the sciences) being confused and unable to recall what they have learned from classes and textbooks.
“I think I learned something about Dr. Fleming and diabetes? Or maybe it was penicillin? I really don’t remember. There is no statue of him (her?) on our campus so I don’t really know for sure,” said second year med student Peter Durford. “I don’t know how they expect us to remember all this stuff about the advancements in science and medicine without statues of them all for us to see. It’s un-American if you ask me.”