This is a semi-objective view of the class.
Do not take this class if you want an “easy” or “breather” class. It is a lot of work.

Workload:
6-8 hours of reading a week
1 Midterm
1 Final
2 Summaries
1 7-8 page essay

Midterm breakdown:
-5 identifications (write 3 important historical facts about a certain event, person, object etc...)
-2 short answers (recommended 1 full page in length)
-1 short essay (recommended 3-5 pages in length)

Final breakdown:
-10 identifications (same as midterm)
-2 short answers
-2 essays (one short, same as midterm, one long, 6+ pages recommended in length.)

Professor Frank is passionate about the subject, clear, and wise. He is a helpful professor in office hours. Discussion is interesting and allows students to get into the “meat” of the course and see the “bigger picture” of larger implications in medicine.

Biases I had:
I hated this course. Honestly. The sheer amount of reading was outrageous and a lot of the times, useless. One reading detailed 14 cases of people with diseases and they all ended up dying. What was the point of that? What did we learn? Nothing really.

I also loved this course. It shows how medicine isn’t objective. It takes into account poverty, war, industrialism, and a multitude of other benefactors and sees just how much medicine effects society in different facets. It’s so largely a class that shows the grand scheme of things you can’t help but find a new perspective of what medicine really is.

Conclusion:
I wouldn’t take this class again because I was a naive freshman and thought that a class about medicine would be happy and fun but that’s just not the case. Medicine is all sorts of corrupt and demented but also necessary and at times, jubilant. The class itself is objectively just an immense amount of work. But it did teach me a lot and to that end, I can’t say it was horrible.

SELLING BOOK required for the course! Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit of Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity. Contact me at *************!

First of all, this class involves A LOT of reading, but it is doable and VERY interesting. I personally enjoyed the lectures because they were super helpful(Professor Frank basically summarized and connected the readings into the week's theme). Also, discussions were very helpful because the TA's emphasized more specifically how the readings fit into the theme and what information we were suppose to get out of it. I recommend each week you try to create a timeline of events/terms as you and how they fit into the history of medicine, just so you don't have to do it days before the midterm. The midterm is fairly easy as long as you understand a couple readings and their importance, have a some-what accurate timeline of events, and be able to identify people/terms/dates. Overall, Professor Frank and the TA do a great job at teaching the material.

Really enjoyed this class. Difficult because its a lot of material and a lot to memorize--dates, names, etc. Dr. Frank gives engaging lectures but doesn't use slides. Would recommend.

I HAVE PRINT OUTS OF PRETTY MUCH ALL THE READINGS(minus Porter, which you can find online)
please contact me and take them out of my hands(FREE) ----- *************

This course was pretty interesting, I'm not that into medicine but Professor Frank's lectures were super engaging.
The workload is on the heavy side, but if you're extremely organized and good at managing time then you should be able to space out the readings.
Also, it is totally doable to do well in this course without doing all or most of the readings, I certainly didn't.
Just make sure that for the midterm/final you know at least a few key readings(collaborate w your peers!), know facts about the most important people/tech/events/diseases, and start with the longest essays(worth most points) in the exam and you'll be fine.
Oh, and try to do a few of the readings before your discussion, it's pretty awkward when it's obvious that only one person did the reading.

I would definitely recommend this class if you're interested in how medicine has progressed from the 1800s-1950s. The content is extremeley facsinating and professor Frank's enthusiasm about it makes the class even more enjoyable . The readings can be quite long but if you're interested in the subject that shouldn't be a problem because they're also pretty straight forward. Professor Frank has emphasised how the readings are more important than the lecture material to excel on the final and midterm so reading them thoroughly is crucial to get an A. The content is extensive but he always gives you options for all the questions on the midterm and final.

Professor Frank is genuinely interested in students not only doing well in the class, but also in thoroughly learning course material. He is very bright and knowledgeable; his own passion for the subject is contagious and drives the nature of his instruction and expectations. (*Side note: To me, it also made the class more enjoyable.*) For example, he and the TA's seem to communicate well, and the TA's are also some of the best I've had, as they themselves seem genuinely interested and dedicated to the subject. Niveditah was my TA; she was extremely helpful and effective. Sections were rich and very helpful.

In addition, the coursework is helpful. In my judgment, nothing was busywork, but encouraged critical thinking and truly reflected student comprehension and understanding.

All that said, Professor Frank is so far my favorite professor I've had at UCLA, and I could very well see him being the best, as far as I'm concerned, professor at the end of all of my time at UCLA.

I was the only non premed or History major in this class and for the first week I felt very out of my depth. However, once I got used to Prof. Frank's style it became easily my favorite class at UCLA. There wasn't a lot of day to day homework, but studying for the midterm and the final were pretty stressful. If you have an eye for connecting themes and remembering important people, this class shouldn't be too difficult. Overall, a year later, I still think about things I learned in this class. Don't just take it because it's a GE that you need fulfilled and it fits in your schedule. If you don't care about the subject you will fall behind and think it is extremely boring.

I think this is an important class and Prof. Frank is one of my favorite professors who made a subject I though was beyond my abilities very relatable.

Excellent professor! He is extremely knowledgeable (he lectures without notes or ppt) and very funny! Yes, there is a lot of readings and a lot of writing on the tests, however if you're at all interested in how modern medicine came to be, I strongly recommend and encourage you all to take this class! Discussion is mandatory, but you'll be glad it is because the TAs put a lot of effort in making sure students understand the readings and materials. You will learn so many fascinating things!

I feel obliged to write a review about Professor Frank because there hasn't been one in a few years. I took the class Spring 2015, and I was very happy with how it went. Professor Frank is an excellent professor: he's funny, engaging, charismatic, interested in the material he teaches, and extremely knowledgeable. However, do not take this class if you want a walk in the park. Professor Frank expects a lot of his students; there are three to four long readings per week that are pretty much required if you want anything near or in the A range. The midterm and final were of essay format, which I wasn't a big fan of as a south campus major. Here's the breakdown:
14% participation
6% two one-page summaries (3% each)
15% midterm (consisted of 5 short identifications, 2 short answer, and one essay)
15% 8-9 page paper
50% final (consisted of 10 short identifications, 3 short answer, one "short" essay, and one "long" essay)

The final took nearly the entire class all 3 hours, and needless to say, my hand was ready to fall off after that exam. One thing professor Frank does is if you don't do well in the first half of the course, he can way the final up to 75% of the grade (this is only in the student's benefit, he won't raise it if the student did worse on the final than the midterm and/or essay). Anyway, I haven't received my grade but I'm expecting an A solely because my TA was fantastic. Though the class may seem intimidating, I highly recommend taking if you are at all interested in medicine. It may have been a difficult class that required a lot of work, but I had a great time learning the material and have not regretted my decision since the first day of lecture.