The Monmouth inquirer., 1898-04-21
MEDICAL EDUCATION
Eight Years Of study Needed to Make
Competent Physician.

Competent Physician.
At the dedication of the new building
of the Hartford Medical society, Febru-
ary 1. President Gilman, of Johns Hop
kins University, said;
Upon all who are looking forwaro
to the medical profession, for them
selves of for their wards, 7 would inn
press the notion that this is a calling
which gives employment to the utmost
capabilities of human natureall that
is best in physical, Intellectual moral
or social characteristics. 1t exercises
the finest powers of imagination, OBJ
servation, reflection and Judgment and
extracts from those who would be its
leaders varied and prolonged training
in books in laboratories and at the bed
side.
Medical science is very complex; il
is rather network of sciences. In
these days most rapid advances are
made. He who keeps up with the pro-
gress must be well trained and nimble,
sure of foot and on the outlook for
dangers. Medicine and surgery are
based on pathology, pathology rests on
physiology, physiology upon chemistry,
chemistry upon physics and physics
upon mathematics. He, therefore, who
looks forward to the highest success in
his profession must lay good founda-
tion, while be is yet boy, in his geom-
etry and trigonometry, partly because
of their logical value, parity because of
the laws of physics, including electrici-
ty, are written in mathematiS al terms,
and chemistry likewise involves the
most accurate statements. After these
preliminaries, the candidate must have
a long period in the practice in the ex-
periments in the use of the balance, the
retort, the battery the galyanometer,
the microscope After that, he must
take up the scalpel and study the struc-
ture and functions of animals and
plants, observing how living beings,
lower in rank than the human species
perform their normal and healthy func-
tions. Such knowledge may not be ac-
quired in the lecture room or from
books. 1t must be gained by the resi-
dence for a long period in the labora-
tories. Then the candidate will be pre- |
pared for the study of germs, or, in /
other words, he may enter a pathologi- !
cal laboratory in order to become ac-
quainted with the aspects, the life his +
tory and the action of those minute |
micro-organisms which are grouped (
under the general name of bacteria. /
Close in hand with this study is that of /
the minute anatomy and physiology of /
the human body. Physiological chem I
istry then requires special attention, /
and the composition and functions of I
the drugs and remedies of the materia I
medica are to be examined. Then
comes the proper professional study, in
Guiding every department of medicine
and surgery, extending to the study of
obscure diseases of every organ and re-
quisite treatment therefor.
These professional studies must go
forward in connection with the hospital
and dispensary, so that the knowledge
acquired at the bedside may be applied
to every form of medical and surgical
relief Such an education will not be
complete without an introduction to
the history of medicine and to medical
prudence. Sanitary science, in its
relations to the welfare of the COM
munity, is also an indispensable branch
of study Now it is hardly possible to Sc
cure such an education in shorter
period than eight years, four of which
may be spent in the proper college, and
four in an institute of medicine. Not
less than this amount of labor and de-
votion will be required in the near fu-
ture of all those who wish to become
the leaders in their profession"