John Womack tells us that Harvard economists dismiss history of economics with   
the dismissive query: "would they teach history of medicine in the med school?"  
  
In most Canadian medical schools history of medicine IS taught. The history of   
error, arrogantly practiced by the most respected and caring professionals of   
the past, is considered a useful cautionary tale. Caring physicians, for   
example, were among the most receptive to eugenic ideas worldwide. History is   
a way of teaching prospective physicians to slow down before they try to   
coerce people to do things for their own good.  
  
It's a tale that needs constant reinforcement.   
  
Evelyn L. Forget