Professor Frank is a very engaging and brilliant lecturer who is passionate about what he teaches. There are a lot of readings but they are not all required. It is better to do the reading that he posts instead of the book information. He gives you a few choices on what to write about on the midterm and final. If you go to all the lectures and discussions then you should be able to pass the class. It is not as difficult as people put it out to be. He will definitely increase your interest in the wide variety of topics. I highly recommend this class and Professor Frank.

I took Professor Frank's class Fall 2011. His lectures were quite interesting, but that's because medicine in general is an interesting topic for me. As for his TA's, do NOT get Sarah. She was horrible, and I heard the other TA's weren't good either. There was also a ton of readings to do, I suggest reading the articles Frank has on his website instead of the readings from the book. In the end, you'll get a higher grade by knowing the articles instead of the book readings.

Great professor but I HATED THIS CLASS. I could never pay attention it was so boring but I could tell Frank really loved what he was teaching. I had the worst TA ever and the weekly readings were horrible. Midterm and final consist of writing. I bs'd the entire thing and got out with a C+ in the class. One of my worst grades ever because I couldn't stand this class!

I took this class Fall 2011. I really liked this class, the subject was interesting and the lectures are really well structured. In the beginning of each lecture the professor would write the outline of his class and follow it so you always know what he is talking about.
There is a lot of readings, don't fall behind! Keep up and you'll be fine.
There was an essay, two one page summaries, a midterm, and a final. I did better than I expected, A- overall.
The only thing I didn't appreciate was the TA. She didn't seem approachable and sometimes didn't want to clarify some points. In office hours it seemed like she didn't want you there. But it wasn't horrible.
I would recommend this class to those who are interested in medicine but who is not pre-med. It really makes you appreciate how far science and medicine has progressed. But be prepared for a lot of reading.

Professor Frank is by far one of my most favorite professors at UCLA. I thought that his class was so intriguing (and I'm an English major of all things) and his lectures were far from boring. I felt really comfortable coming to office hours because he was so approachable and knowledgeable without being pretentious. Take any class that you can with him as the professor because he will change your appreciation for the history of medicine.

I agree with everything written in the latest evaluation. The professor is really approachable, and his lectures are actually quite interesting: he can also be funny, which is a pleasant surprise. However, I would disagree with a previous post from a few years back from someone that said he/she got a B and didn't even work very hard (and if you worked a bit harder you would get an A for sure.) I'm not sure how I feel about this class after I received a B myself, as I am one of those people who worked hard for this class and was surprised that this was my final grade. I'm still wondering what could've gone wrong: the two papers are very reasonable, though long, and the final was a packed 2-hrs of intense writing that you can handle if you have a decent memory about the materials covered in class. I think it all comes down to your TA and who grades your work: for the first paper, the professor himself randomly graded a couple of people's essays from my discussion section, and they all received really low marks (the impression is that our TA graded much more generously). However, I felt like our TA wanted to hold herself better to the professor's standards and was more stringent with the second paper (and this wasn't because I wrote a worse second paper. In fact, if anything, I personally felt like my second paper was better.) All in all, don't assume you are getting an A just because you work hard. For the record, my TA is a visiting graduate student-- and you probably will never get her again for this class, since she said herself that she was a Chinese history student and didn't know why she was placed to TA this history class.

Dr. Frank is a great professor. I admit that if you're taking more than three classes or if you have a busy schedule, this class may not be the best to take. The material is by no means difficult to learn and memorize, but it is somewhat time consuming to read all of the assigned material every week, which consists of about 30 pages (it's an easy read and a small book; look up the dimensions somewhere) of Roy Porter's "The Greatest Benefit to Mankind" and usually 3 or 4 supplementary readings that vary in length. If you're more interested in learning about science and medicine than in politics or history of a civilization (I know I am), this class is a great option. Even if you aren't a science major, it's a good class. I've heard many non-science majors enjoy it too. Dr. Frank is a great lecturer, and even if you haven't read the material you'll still be able to follow along (although to get the most out of lecture, you should read all the readings beforehand). Overall a wonderful course. I definitely recommend if you're willing to put in the time and effort.

I'm not sure why this last person wrote that review, History 3D was by no means the hardest class I have ever taken. There are a good amount of readings each week for discussion, but what you discuss in there is very important to learning main and important themes for the course. Go to lecture, thats where you get your facts, famous people, and innovations in medicine. If you go to both lecture (or get the notes) and discussion, you are golden to do well in the class.
The key is to not brush off class, stay involved, dont wait till the week before a midterm to catch up and you'll do fine. His lectures can be a bit boring, but they also have really neat info about how we got to where we are today, fascinating stuff.
I definitely recommend for a GE that keeps you involved and thinking

Hardest class ever. It was extremely challenging and I worked my ass off for the end grade.

The readings were ENDLESS and kinda BORING, and I didn't finish in the slightest. The papers were NOT BAD at all (4pg and a 6pg). The presentation was based on a reading and in discussion. It was the only easy thing in this class, but it's only 4% of your grade. The midterm and final were HORRIBLE. Non-stop writing covering almost everything in the class. The final: 3 hours full of 10 IDs (including dates and 2 historical facts), 3 short answers (a page each), 1 short essay (4pgs), and 1 long essay (6pgs). GOD I ALMOST DIED. Despite all the work, lectures were AWESOME and, in a way, ENTERTAINING. Professor Frank is a PHONOMENAL LECTURER and a wealth of knowledge. He is the reason I liked this class. Honestly, he is one of the BEST PROFESSORS at this school.

Advice: pick main topics and their pertaining readings and study them really really well. Go to lecture and take crazy notes (I filled out an entire notebook and had to add pages in the back). Try to get Daphne for a TA. She is cool, funny, and makes discussion fun.

I'm a north campus major with an interest in medicine, and it was just an okay class. I guess the work I had to do outweighed my interest in the subject. However, I am glad I experienced Professor Frank's teaching. It feels good that the money I pay to go to UCLA is put into good use towards talented professors like Frank. I definitely learned a lot from this course. I dunno how I could use this knowledge in the future, but it's interesting to know!

I suppose this class would be perfect for south campus majors needing a break from the chemistry and math (or whatever you guys do) to fulfill some north campus GEs. But prepare to work!!!

I just found a journal entry I wrote about the class, and I thought it might be fitting to post it here in case it might be helpful. I'm tired and didn't edit it, so sorry if it's more of a rambling than a review:

What was it about that history of medicine class that made one of the most worthwhile classes, if not THE best class, that I’ve ever taken? Seriously. Ever. The more and more I think about it, the more and more I’m missing it. No doubt, a large part of it was the eloquent Dr. Frank. His immense knowledge, his genuine passion, and his love of telling stories made him the single best lecturer I’ve ever had, and it was a rare day that I wasn’t on the edge of my seat rapt with attention. The papers were also challenging, and the fact that my essays (which would have scored As in other classes) were ruthlessly torn apart provided a much needed shock—yes, I need to be held up to high standards. And the readings, though abundant and sometimes tedious, also provided an authentic window into revolutionary times.

However, I think that it was the subject matter that struck some chords within me. Whenever I read those cursory acknowledgements that are scattered throughout science textbooks—it was so-and-so that discovered so-and-so—and the brief sypnoses of what they did if they’re important enough—I don’t see these names as human.I don’t realize that they are people with their own distinct personalities, enmities and friendships, and personal struggles. What were their daily routines like? Why did they choose to pursue medical practice or research? How did they respond to contemporary world events? Who taught them, who inspired them? What motivated them—the common good, curiosity, fame, fortune? What this history class did was give me role models and context. By reviewing the lives, decisions, and discoveries of all these people, I was studying ways to map out my own life.

No wonder this class was so personal.