Medical Schools by grandmaR
Baltimore is lucky to have two fine medical schools in the city.My dad taught Anatomy at the University of Maryland Medical School which was (along with the other professional schools of Law, Pharmacy and Dentistry and the hospital) in Baltimore City.
But most people only knew Johns Hopkins medical school and hospital. So when I said my dad was a medical school professor, they'd always ask "Hopkins?" and I would always say, "No, the University of Maryland". They would say "Oh" in a very disappointed, dismissing tone.
This used to irritate me because I thought my dad was the best and resented the idea that he must be in some way inferior because he was not at Hopkins. I haven't really changed my mind about Hopkins.
I feel that in some cases they trade on their reputation which is sometimes a bit inflated. The University gets less grants, and is ranked lower because the rankings take Hopkins reputation (gained in the late 1800s and early 1900s) into account.Although my sister would disagree with me, one of the things I liked best to do was to go down to the gross anatomy lab and watch the medical students dissecting the cadavers. I thought this was fascinating - the smell of formaldehyde is nostalgic for me.
When I reached puberty (around age 11-12) my mom made me stop going down there because I reported to her that one of the students had told me that I had 'fine bones' and wouldn't ever be fat. (Obviously he was wrong about that!!) This set off her maternal alarm bells, and after that I wasn't allowed down there without my dad.
