The study of medicine is “the science of preventing, diagnosing, alleviating, or curing disease” (freedictionary.com). Prehistoric medicine mainly consisted of the use of healing herbs, animal parts, and sacred men or sorcerers. The Greek physician Hippocrates is known as the “father of medicine”. The Hippocratic Oath is named after Hippocrates. Every medical graduate must take the Hippocratic Oath. Another notable one in medicine is Galen, a Greek surgeon, who conducted eye and brain surgeries that were not attempted for the next two millennia. (Wikipedia) “After 750, the Arab Muslim world had the teachings of Hippocrates and Galen translated into Arabic” (Wikipedia). “Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), or physiatry, is a branch of medicine that aims to improve and restore the functional abilities and quality of life of those who have physical impairments or disabilities” (Wikipedia). One of the early pioneers of PM&R was Frank H. Krusen, MD. In 1936 he developed a Department of Physical Medicine which was established at the Mayo Clinic. In 1938 it was suggested that the term “physiatrist” included physicians specializing in physical medicine. One of the major catalysts for the need for physical medicine was the United States' entry into World War II. The amount of wounded soldiers returning home in need of care was a primary focus. In 1947, Dr. Kusen, Walter Zeiter, and John Coulter succeeded in creating the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. (American Academy of PM&R, 1) “Common conditions treated by physiatry are sports injuries, amputation, spinal cord injuries, and musculoskeletal pain syndromes” (Wikipedia). The main purpose of rehabilitation is to get the person back to... middle of paper... during office hours. UC Davis UC San Diego is consistently ranked among the top ten schools by many different agencies. UCLA is the largest university in the system and is known for excellent education. UC Davis also has an excellent biology department and premedical program. Finally, Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo is another good choice for obtaining premedical training. For the past one hundred years, this school has educated students with the guiding principle of “learning by doing.” There are over 19,000 students at Cal Poly, and over 80% have a job or attend some sort of graduate school within a year of graduating. Their acceptance rate for medical school is not listed. Class sizes are more reasonable than those at UC, but still larger than those at St. Mary's. (Cal Poly website) Works Cited http://www.aapmr.org/academy/historyb.htm http://www.mcw.edu/display/docid13674.htm