About This Course
This short course explores how the First World War fundamentally transformed medicine and healthcare, reshaping clinical practice, public health, and professional medicine in ways that continue to influence modern healthcare systems. Through four themed lectures, the course examines medicine on the eve of war, the unprecedented medical challenges posed by industrialised conflict, and the rapid innovations that emerged in response to mass injury, infection, and psychological trauma.
Learners will explore developments in trauma surgery, infection control, triage, rehabilitation, and mental health care, alongside the changing roles of nurses, women doctors, and voluntary medical services. The course also considers the wider public health implications of the war, including infectious disease control, venereal disease campaigns, and the impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic. Particular attention is given to how wartime medical organisation and state involvement in healthcare laid important foundations for twentieth-century health systems, including the emergence of specialist disciplines and, ultimately, the creation of national healthcare services.
Drawing on historical case studies, personal accounts, and medical innovations, the course situates medical progress within its broader social, ethical, and political contexts, offering learners a clear understanding of how global conflict accelerated medical change.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, learners will be able to demonstrate an informed understanding of how the First World War acted as a catalyst for major developments in medicine and healthcare. They will be able to explain key advances in trauma care, surgery, infection control, rehabilitation, and mental health, and critically evaluate how wartime pressures reshaped medical practice and professional roles. Learners will also develop an appreciation of the war’s wider public health impact and its longer-term influence on healthcare organisation and policy in the twentieth century.
Outline of the benefits of the course
This course offers an engaging and accessible exploration of medical history through the powerful lens of the First World War, combining human stories with scientific and social change. It will appeal to learners interested in history, healthcare, medicine, nursing, and public health, as well as those with a general interest in how modern society was shaped by conflict. The course provides clear connections between historical developments and contemporary healthcare, enhancing learners’ understanding of why modern medical systems function as they do. No prior specialist knowledge is required, making the course suitable for a wide and diverse audience.
Time and Location
Each week, the time will be: 6.00 PM – 8.00 PM and will also be held in Lecture Room 4, Main Arts building, Ä¢¹½´«Ã½.
Weekly Schedule
Week 1: Medicine on the Eve of War
- State of medical knowledge in 1914
- Surgery, bacteriology, and hospital systems before industrialised warfare
- Military medical organisation at the outbreak of war
- Early expectations versus battlefield realities
Week 2: Industrialised Warfare and Trauma Care
- Trench warfare and new patterns of injury
- Triage systems and battlefield evacuation
- Advances in trauma surgery and reconstructive surgery
- Infection control and antiseptic practices
- The development of blood transfusion techniques
Week 3: Rehabilitation, Mental Health, and Changing Professional Roles
- Shell shock and the emergence of military psychiatry
- Rehabilitation and physiotherapy
- Artificial limbs and reconstructive medicine
- The expanding role of nurses and voluntary medical units
- Women doctors and gendered professional change
Week 4: Public Health, Pandemic, and the Foundations of Modern Healthcare
- Infectious disease control in wartime
- Venereal disease campaigns and state intervention
- The 1918 influenza pandemic
- Growth of state responsibility for health
- Long-term legacies: specialisation, health policy, and foundations of national healthcare systems
Lecturer:
Dr Dylan Jones (Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences (Haematology / Human Physiology)
Module lead for MSE-0003 History of Medicine, MSE-0004 Humans: Structure & Function, MSE-1021 Human Physiology, MSE-2006 Clinical Physiology, MSE-2015 Haematology & Transfusion, MSE-2026 Applied Clinical Technologies, MSE-3015 Haematology, MSE-4062 Diagnostic Sciences, MSE-4069 Applied Diagnostics Sciences, MSE-4090 Blood Sciences.
Contributing lecturer on MSE-1018 Clinical Sciences in Practice, MSE-1017 Key Skills in Medical Science, MSE-1019 Good Laboratory Practice, MSE-1020 Biomedical Practicals, MSE-2003 Research Skills, MSE-2017 Vocational Skills, MSE-3018 Clinical Biochemistry.
Project supervisor for MSE-3013 Research Project and MSE-3008 Dissertation. Dissertation subjects of interest include: role of polymorphisms in genetic regulatory regions, molecular evolution of virulence factors, antibiotic resistance, haematological malignancies and the role of genomics in their detection & management.
Other roles include member of the SMS Board of Studies, member of the SMS Staff Student Liaison Committee and exams officer for SMS.
Course Cost
This short course is free
Application
Complete the form below to register for this course. We will contact you closer to the course start date with all the details you will need.