Changes in Medicine c1848 - c1948 is an Edexcel iGCSE Breadth Study. It covers the changes in and development of medicine in Britain from the Public Health Act of 1848 to the beginning of the National Health Service, examining developments in medical knowledge, surgery, nursing, treatment and public health, as well as the impact of the world wars.

This course allows you to understand the nature, extend and process of change in medicine. You will be able to identify the key features and characteristics of medicine in this time period, and develop the ability to explain, analyse and make judgements about the developments in medicine during this time.

The course is split into the following enquiries:

• ❖ The development of nursing, including the role of Florence Nightingale and the impact of women in nursing during the world wars.
• ❖ Surgical advances, including Lister and the development of aseptic surgical practices, anaesthetics, Simpson and the discovery of chloroform, Landsteiner and the development of blood transfusions and surgical practices in the world wars.
• ❖ Developments in public health, including the work of Chadwick, the Public Health Acts of 1848 and 1875, the impact of industrial cities on health, cholera and the work of John Snow, the Liberal reforms of 1906 and the introduction of the NHS.
• ❖ Improving medical knowledge. This includes the work of Pasteur and Koch on germ theory, the development of Magic Bullets, the discovery of penicillin and the work of Fleming, Florey and Chain.
• ❖ The impact of the world wars on medicine, including the challenges of trench warfare and advances in medical understanding, surgical practices, and nursing,

The following key individuals are covered in this course:

• ❖ Edwin Chadwick.
• ❖ James Simpson.
• ❖ Joseph Lister.
• ❖ Louis Pasteur.
• ❖ Robert Koch.
• ❖ Paul Ehrlich.
• ❖ Karl Landsteiner.
• ❖ Harold Gillies.
• ❖ Harvey Cushing.
• ❖ Alexander Fleming.
• ❖ Howard Florey.
• ❖ Ernst Chain.
• ❖ Archibald McIndoe.
• ❖ Dwight Harken.
• ❖ Wylie McKissock.

This unit is assessed on Paper 2 Section B. The paper contains three questions.

• ❖ Question (a) is worth 6 marks. It will ask you to explain two differences or similarities across the time period. You must use specific details from each example to fully explain the similarities or differences.
• ❖ Question (b) is worth 8 marks. It will ask you to explain two causes or consequences of an event. You must use accurate, relevant and detailed historical facts to show how each cause led to the event, or how each consequence resulted from it.
• ❖ Question (c) is worth 16 marks, and you will have a choice of one of two questions. It will ask you to make a judgement about 'how far' a historical statement is true. You must select at least three points to support your answer, use accurate, relevant and detailed knowledge to explain and analyse whether they support the statement, and reach a judgement based on the points that you have made. The question will give you two bullet points to help you to answer, but you must use at least one more of your own.