Mobility and selection in Scottish university medical education, 1858-1886.

These observations caused a flurry in the University of Edinburgh, which had previously conferred an honorary degree on Lowe; but it revealed a view apparently widespread in English medical institutions. Although the Medical Act of 1858 had laid the ground for the transformation of the medical profession in Britain, particularly through its impact on medical education, it seemed that there was still a hierarchy of respect among the institutions responsible for medical education and that, in particular, the major Scottish universities were failing to provide the highest standards of examination for prospective entrants to the profession. This was in spite of the efforts to centralize the system of medical education. The creation of the General Medical Council (GMC) allowed the medical profession to define a "legitimate" practitioner through the Medical Register and a number of other procedures. The GMC advised on the length of the medical curriculum and the subjects to be studied. It hoped to tighten recruitment to the profession by ensuring that all medical students passed a preliminary examination to test knowledge of the