This document provides an overview of different types of history exam questions related to medicine. It lists 20 sample questions and categorizes them as testing inference, causation, consequences, roles, or judgment. The questions cover a range of topics from the role of the church in medieval medicine to the creation of the NHS and impact of technology on hospital treatment.
1. Identifying different types of questions
Inference Causation Consequences Role Judgement
1. Why did the standard of medical treatment improve so rapidly during the twentieth century? (12)
2. Study Sources A and B. What can you learn from Sources A and B about changes in nursing in
the period between the Middle Ages and the start of the 20th Century? (4)
3. How did Edward Jenner eradicated small pox? (9)
4. What role did the church play in medieval medicine? (9)
5. Do you think Edwin Chadwick’s work was the most important factor in improving public health
services in towns in the nineteenth century? Explain your answer. (16)
6. Explain how Fleming’s discovery of penicillin as an antibiotic was important in developing our
understanding of the treatment of disease. (9)
7. Study Sources A and B. What can you learn from Sources A and B about changes in the way
people have tried to prevent the spread of infectious disease? Explain our answer. (4)
8. What contribution did Florence Nightingale make to improvements in hospital care? (9)
9. Why were conditions in towns so bad during the nineteenth century? (9)
10. Explain the effects of William Harvey’s theory of circulation of medicine and health. (9)
11. What role did Aneurin Bevan play in introducing the NHS in 1948? (9)
12. What can you learn from Sources A and B about changes in the communication of medical
knowledge? Explain your answer, using these sources. (4)
13. Why did the government take action to improve public health in the nineteenth century?
Explain your answer. (16)
14. Explain why Jenner’s creation of the smallpox vaccine was important in developing our
understanding of the treatment of disease. (9)
15. The government’s role in improving public health was more important during the nineteenth
century than during the twentieth century’. Do you agree? (16)
16. How much did the care for the sick in hospitals change in the period from the mid-nineteenth
century to the end of the twentieth century? Explain your answer. (12)
17. Why was William Harvey able to make his discoveries about circulation in the 17th century? (12)
18. In what ways has technology affected the treatment available to patients in hospitals since 1900? (12)
19. How important was the role of the Second World War in creating the NHS? (16)
20. What can you learn from Sources A and B about changes in the treatments people used for
minor illnesses such as headaches? Explain your answer, using these sources. (4)