Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1901-02-15
TOO MANY DOCTORS.
The Evils an,, Causes Of tho Overcrowdet
Medical Profession

The EVILS anU causes OF tno OSercroWoes
Medical Profession.
In common with the other PROBES
sions, that of medicine is Overcrowded
This condition is not a new one, bu'
1t is worse than it was, and 1t is coll
tinually growing worse. We doubl
whether it is within the province Of
any man to point out sure and GER
tain remedy for bad sociologic cond1'
lions but it is within the province oil
any of us to note few of the factors
that contribute to existing evils ana
by avoiding them in the future, 70
lessen to some extent the evils OF
which we complain.
Medicine invites the allegiance OF
many who imagine that they see III
it's practice an easy method OF making
a respectable living without going tc
much expense in preparation. rms
class was especially appealed to by
the formerly existing short courses OF
study, with the absolute certainty OF
graduation at the end of two years.
Today, being shut out of most reputa'
BILE medical colleges. the same class Is
taking up the various branches OF
quackery. such as osteopathy. hypno'
tism. Christian Science and kindred
short cuts to good incomes. The III
stitutes" of various kinds which now
advertise instruction in the various
healing fads make special point oil
dilating upon the certainty of making
a good living by these means in very
short time. 1t is evident that a good
living for these frauds is a smaller
annual income than is requisite for the
reputable physician, with his necessa'
rily large expenditures every year Tor
books, instruments and remedies. The
fact that these charlatans have come
and have come to stay, should be re-
cognized. We cannot lessen the evil
no matter how much we deplore It,
Irregular practitioners of various sorts
now monopolize more than half OF the
medical practice in regard to minor
illnesses-the kind that would event.
nally get well without treatment or in
spite of it-and which formerly con-
tributed very respectable annual
sum to the average doctors income
The genuine medical profession does
as much work as ever in serious dis
eases, but gets less for it.
It may thus be seen that even with
out an annual influx of new men there
Is less work today for the average
doctor than there was twenty years
ago. Preventive medicine is still
further lessening the amount of rou-
tine work for the general practitioner
Typhoid fever was formerly the stand
by for steady incomes in many com
munities. Four or five cases OF thai
disease continually on hand made
very fair bulk of the general practl-
toners outside work. The prevalence
of the illness is constantly decreasing
some day it will be practically eradi'
Gated. So it is with diptheria; so it Ii
in some parts Of the country with ma
larial diseases. Altruistic medicine Is
lessening it's own work and diminish
ing its own income.
With these and kindred facts il
mind. is there not some legitimate way
to lessen the number OF doctors VINO
have to do the work? Sould not every
physician, and especially every col
lege professor, do his best to keep the
incompetent. the ne'er-do-wells ant
certain failures from entering oul
ranks? No young man should be en-
couraged to take up the study of med
icine unless he possesses natural quail
ifications of an exceptionally high or
der. Good drug clerks, good BARRIERS
good carpenters and good schoo
teachers should not be urged to aban
don occupations for which they are
suited, and in which they make prob
ably as fair an income as they will
make in medicine for at least tel
years Every professor in some col
iege feels that it is his duty to secure
at least one student each year for his
claa. Sometimes he goes into the
highways and byways and compel'
them to come in. Only too often the
recruits thus obtained are neither de
sirable from the standpoint of intelli
gence nor pleasant associates from the
standpoint of personal character.
We plead for more care in the selec
ton of medical students; we plead fol
less enthusiasm in urging young mel
to take up the study of science fol
whose practice their personal qualifi
cations do not fit ,hem; we plead fol
a less crowded profession by raising
the standard of admission into thai
profession. philadelphia Medical Jour
nal.