Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Texas State Board of Medical Examiners records
Date(s)
- 1907 (Creation)
- 1907-1972 (Creation)
Extent
49 cubic feet (98 boxes)
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Texas Medical Board is the body responsible for regulating medical practitioners in the state of Texas through examination, licensing, setting standards of practice, and, if necessary, disciplinary action. Texas began regulating physicians in 1837 when Dr. Anson Jones, one of the few formally educated physicians in the state, wrote the Medical Practice Act. The Board of Medical Censors tested prospective physicians and granted licenses from 1837 until 1848. A new regulatory law for medical doctors was enacted in 1873 and the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners was formed in 1907. In 1993 the Board expanded to create the Texas State Board of Physician Assistant Examiners and the Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners. It was renamed the Texas Medical Board in 2005.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners collection consists primarily of licensure records for more than 6,000 Texas physicians. The license applications and related materials date from 1907 to 1972. A typical doctor's file contains biographical information, licensure applications, registration cards, some correspondence, and usually a photograph. In addition to these files, there are two additional boxes of registration cards that are not accompanied by supplemental information. The collection also contains newsletters, a directory, and lists of doctors newly licensed, which date from 1979-2008.
The physicians documented in this collection were either licensed to practice medicine in Texas in 1907 or applied for licenses or license renewals after 1907 and up to 1972. The files include information on physicians from a variety of medical backgrounds. Many of the doctors practiced traditional medicine as well as osteopathy, but some licenses were issued to doctors trained in eclectic medicine and other non-traditional forms.
Dates provided in the inventory reflect the full range of dates noted in a given doctor's file. They are roughly, but not always exactly, analogous to the doctor's lifespan. The first date given is typically the doctor's birth year, according to the licensure application. The later date may be a death date. However, in some cases it may be the latest date that the license was renewed, or the date when the Board determined that the physician was deceased (sometimes years after the actual death date).
System of arrangement
The collection is divided into two series: Series I: Licensure Records, 1907-1972, and Series II: Newsletters, Directory, and Doctors Newly Licensed, 1979-2008. The licensure records are organized alphabetically by last name.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Material is open for research.
Physical access
Most of the materials are in good condition. However, after tropical storm Allison in 2001, some of the records were water damaged and discarded. Some of the remaining materials do show evidence of water damage.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to publish from this material must be facilitated through the repository, McGovern Historical Center.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
- Latin
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Deed-3
Immediate source of acquisition
Texas Board of Medical Examiners approved transferring custody of these files from the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners to the Historical Research Center in Houston, which is now known at the Texas Medical Center Library’s McGovern Historical Center. See the correspondence in the control folder and the copy of the “Request for Authority to Dispose of Public Records.”
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Accruals are not expected for this collection.
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Biographical information from this collection can also be found in the Gazetteer of Deceased Texas Physicians at https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/gazetteer/
Related archival materials
Texas State Board of Medical Examiners Records at the Texas State Archives https://txarchives.org/tslac/finding_aids/20135.xml. The MHC also has PDF copies of these ledgers in its Reference Files.
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
- Citation: Texas State Board of Medical Examiners records; IC 058; McGovern Historical Center, Texas Medical Center Library. Please cite the box and folder numbers where appropriate.
- Processing information: Folder-level inventory by Gina Leonard, 2020-2021. Reviewed and uploaded by Matt Richardson, September 2021. The Scope and Contents note and other collection description was also updated based on the inventory.
Alternative identifier(s)
TARO
Description control element
Rules or conventions
DACS 2021
Sources used
Archivist's note
Processed by Gina Leonard, 2020-2021.
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Texas State Board of Medical Examiners (Subject)
- Texas Medical Board (Subject)