Chapter 5: Medical School and World War I

Abstract

UPON COMPLETING GYMNASIUM, I entered the University of Vienna. Medical training at that time took 8 to 9 years of study. The first 3 premedical years were a combination of science and arts courses. After passing a series of examinations, the rigorosa, I matriculated and was admitted to the school of medicine. Medical education revolved around lectures, demonstrations, and laboratory work. Freud, for instance, never treated a patient in medical school. Each specialty was covered by a series of examinations, again called rigorosa, which had to be passed before receiving the MD degree. One could postpone the rigorosa until the end of medical school, as Freud did, or take each examination as one completed a course of study, as I did.