, 1888-03-08
CHOOSING A DOCTOR.
6U0GESTloN5 FROM A PHYSICIAN OF
THIRTY YEARS PRACTICE.

linal's Advice.
In choosing q medical attendant, per.
sonGlity goes u long way with most people
when some member OF the family falls
worry i'll, usually u practitioner Of pro-
stunned eminent standing 10 called In a.
consultant by the attending physician.
Nno times out OF ten this oonsulta-
tion results in the oonAultAnt's con-
frnin9 and approving the diagnosis
and treatment Of the family physl-
CHM" In many instances this appro-
bation is hearty and we'll deserved but
.in some, l am sorry to say, the con-
sultaut yields his judgment to polteness
and good nature rather than discredit the
family doctors treatment, etc.
Never choose n recent graduate Ia medi-
cine, as lie Is always inclined to do as the
professor of practice taught him, rs ho
usually knows the formulas Of the various
prescriptions presented by that professor.
Yet he lacks the experience and learned
touch--the tactIls crudltus--Of his teacher.
Tho newly made doctor is also imbued with
the idea that drugs possess the power TO
travel through the system and drive out
disease, just us ferret chuscs the rats
from between the foorngs and walls Of
! an old house. 1t takes the embryonic doc.
tor at least ten ycars to know that he
should curb his lose giving tendencies
and to learn thrt most diseases, If let
clone, will get well of themselves
Mover choose II doctor who has u hol)b.
In medicine, as he is most sure to trace I'll
forms Of disease to tAut offending organ
ism which may be his especial study i
have known mcn to trace every disease to
the stomach, to indigestion, and another
to the liver, and another to the nervous
system, and another to certain pelvic de-
fccts if the patient should he u woman.
Tho man who attributes all troubles to
malaria IL likcWiae to be avoided as u
guiding and eool ronSoninS doctor, Ma
l!ria cuvcrs UP q good deal Of ignorance,
just as charity covers " multitude Of sins,
tIc difference, hUwevcr, being that in the
Doctors case the patient usually suffers
Gnd sometimes dies becttlse Of ''malnria,"
while the charity axiom is always sure to
be Of service to somebody.
Never employ Is doctor who is strictly
welded To authority. Authority" Gcn.
crally means that IL doctor who bows down
In reverence to it has no logical turn Of
mind, and hG either lGc'.S kuoTledge or
Information or courage to rely upon his
own methods. Snch ii doctor can never
find case such us he has under treat
mont in any Of tho books Of authority
because there are no two diseases exactly
alike, ANY more than there are any two
faces e:tactiy alike. The features Of all
4 rrc mollcd in common, but the expression
! In t)tality il absolutely dliIerent.
Never choose doctor who claims to
, cure everything, particularly il he Is some
what advanced p life and has become
welded to fixed ideas and Interchangeable
themes. Such Il doctor invariably quotes
the shining lights OF the pist, and he sees
| 10 advance in his profession. This man
/ has u lordly contempt for the microscope
and chemical analysis, and he feels abovc
! searching for new discoveries, either in
finding out what may be the character of
! the Illness or in the new science of admin
isterlng as little medicine as possible.
After IL medical man passes his sixty y-fourth
year he should be retired il possible, Like
u general officer in the army. fle 10 then
too firmly allied to his own individuality
to unbend his dignity to Now facts.
When you do choose a medical adviser,
seek to discover IL he is a man Of good ed
ucation, good manners good habits, good
reasoning powers and good health. EdAi-
cation implies that his mind has been
trained to logical deductions and they In
tt,rn teach one to associate every action Ia
life with common sense.
Good manners indicatC gentle, sOCthinG
methods and patience--qualificationS 80
much appreciated by the sick, who arc
usually fretful and irritable. Good men
ners soothe, and this soothing does very
much towards begetting confidence, and
Is almost victory.
Good habits teach the community to
know that the physician is never beclouded
by the harmful fumes Of drink. a clear
intellect, Of all things. is absolutely u pre-
requisite in doctor.
I Good reasoning powers to teach the doc
tor to be strong in his resolutions, to lie
brave in emergencies, which is self conf
dence; and that peculiarity in the doctor
WI
strength. A patient soon appreciates
these qualifications, and they are all pow
erful by the sick bedside.
Good health is boon and q blessing
! which all men require in the transaction
Of their pursuits, but more particularly
required by q physician, who Is compelled
to undergo 80 much physical labor, us
well az mental disquietuCie.
The sprngtime brings with 1t train
Of ailments and diseases which can very
readily be avoided, as most of them urc
developed by the imprudences and care
lessness Of the patients themselves. A
few warm days early in April make us
1 very uncomfortable, because we have not
discarded the heavy flannel underwear,
and we likewise retain the thick outer
garments. The discomfort of the heat
causes many to change for lighter mate
rials and then suddenly comes cold
/ wave born in the heart Of the northwest
ern Rocky mountains, and bronchitis or
pleurisy or pneumonia PUSHES in upon the
unguarded and overconfident individual
Is it therefore strange that Jones or Brown
or Robinson Succumbs, and that we are
shocked at the suddenneSs and fatality Of
the attack Wherefore We must never
change our heavy underwear until tho
certainty Of continued hot weather arrives
In carly June. A little heat saves many
= cold!
Many years ago picked up al old book
printed in Paris In 1905. 1t was q library
being sold ut the celebrated auction rooms
In the Rue Druot, in Paris. l bought it