<P> Medical students would accompany physicians and participate in patient care . Hospitals in this era were the first to require medical diplomas to license doctors . The licensing test was administered by the region's government appointed chief medical officer . The test had two steps; the first was to write a treatise, on the subject the candidate wished to obtain a certificate, of original research or commentary of existing texts, which they were encouraged to scrutinize for errors . The second step was to answer questions in an interview with the chief medical officer . Physicians worked fixed hours and medical staff salaries were fixed by law . For regulating the quality of care and arbitrating cases, it is related that if a patient dies, their family presents the doctor's prescriptions to the chief physician who would judge if the death was natural or if it was by negligence, in which case the family would be entitled to compensation from the doctor . The hospitals had male and female quarters while some hospitals only saw men and other hospitals, staffed by women physicians, only saw women . While women physicians practiced medicine, many largely focused on obstetrics . </P> <P> Hospitals were forbidden by law to turn away patients who were unable to pay . Eventually, charitable foundations called waqfs were formed to support hospitals, as well as schools . Part of the state budget also went towards maintaining hospitals . While the services of the hospital were free for all citizens and patients were sometimes given a small stipend to support recovery upon discharge, individual physicians occasionally charged fees . In a notable endowment, a 13th - century governor of Egypt Al - Mansur Qalawun ordained a foundation for the Qalawun hospital that would contain a mosque and a chapel, separate wards for different diseases, a library for doctors and a pharmacy and the hospital is used today for ophthalmology . The Qalawun hospital was based in a former Fatimid palace which had accommodation for 8,000 people - "it served 4,000 patients daily ." The waqf stated, </P> <P> "...The hospital shall keep all patients, men and women, until they are completely recovered . All costs are to be borne by the hospital whether the people come from afar or near, whether they are residents or foreigners, strong or weak, low or high, rich or poor, employed or unemployed, blind or sighted, physically or mentally ill, learned or illiterate . There are no conditions of consideration and payment, none is objected to or even indirectly hinted at for non-payment ." </P> <P> By the ninth century, there was a rapid expansion of private pharmacies in many Muslim cities . Initially, these were unregulated and managed by personnel of inconsistent quality . Decrees by Caliphs Al - Ma'mun and Al - Mu'tasim required examinations to license pharmacists and pharmacy students were trained in a combination of classroom exercises coupled with day - to - day practical experiences with drugs . To avoid conflicts of interest, doctors were banned from owning or sharing ownership in a pharmacy . Pharmacies were periodically inspected by government inspectors called muhtasib, who checked to see that the medicines were mixed properly, not diluted and kept in clean jars . Violators were fined or beaten . </P>

Which dynasty was in power during islams golden age