Description: The absence of medical licensing laws in most states during the years following the American Civil War made it possible for unscrupulous individuals to exploit the weak over- sight and unregulated state issuance of school charters. Diploma Mill traces the rise and spectacular fall of Dr. John Buchananeducator, author, and criminaland the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania (EMC) over the course of its three decades existence. Founded as a legitimate educational institution, the EMC aspired to carry the banner of eclectic medicine in the eastern United States.
Review Quotes:
"The heart of Diploma Mill is the engaging tale of a medical scoundrel [John Buchanan] in post-Civil War Philadelphia. In this highly readable biography, Johnson treats Buchanan more as a cunning rascal than as a grave danger to society. His pursuit of sources on Buchanan and eclectic medicine is thorough.... As Johnson argues, the Philadelphia diploma mill scandal likely contributed to arguments for state licensing laws, but he recognizes that neither these laws nor state examinations prevented future diploma mills...." -- Bulletin of the History of Medicine
"David Alan Johnson has dealt with many charlatans in his role as senior vice president of the Federation of State Medical Boards, where he oversees assessment. A former high-school history teacher who loved using stories to teach, Johnson found a great one on med-school malfeasance while researching a different topic. In Diploma Mill: The Rise and Fall of Dr. John Buchanan and the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania, he shares the saga of an institution's descent from legitimate school to scam operation." -- Washington Independent Review of Books