ABSTRACT
Abraham Flexner (1866–1959) was an educationalist and reformer. More than a theoretician, he was keen to test his ideas in the real world and set up his own school shortly after graduating from university. The school enabled learning that was tailored to the needs of the individual and encouraged interactive participation in small groups. The school was a success, and Flexner quickly became an authority in innovative methods of education. He was commissioned to evaluate medical education in North America, and in 1910, he published the Flexner Report – which was to have a revolutionary effect on medical education in North America and worldwide. Indeed, it was to set the landscape for medical education for the new century. The report led to the closure of many rural medical schools and wholesale reform of the practice of medical education. Flexner questioned many traditional aspects of medical education and challenged physicians to justify their practice in teaching. He once asked ‘what sound reason can be given for requiring the able and the less able, the industrious and the less industrious, to complete practically the same course of instruction in the same period of time?’ ( 2 ).
