Evening star., 1905-11-05
THE SPECIALIST.
Doctor Indicts a Modern Tendency as
Narrowing.
From the London Mail.

From the London Mall
1.-The inherent dangers and advantages OF
the almost universal tendency to specialize
the part of physicians and surgeons"
was the main thesis OF the presidential ad-
dress delivered by DR.. G. c. Franklin, at
Leicester. at the seventy-third annual
meeting of the British Medical Association.
Perhaps the most startling fact of the day
in connection with medical education, said
DR.. Franklin, Is the apparently inevitable
development of the specialist. One might
be inclined to ask whether the general
practitioner will, as such, continue to eX
list, when one contemplates the subdivisions
Of work that are undertaken by the spe-
cialist Thus there were not only special
men for the eyes ear, spine, skin and throat.
but for almost every organ in the body.
Two main reasons might be assigned for
this state of things-first, the severe COM
petition which awaits a well-quallned man
when he Is about to start In practlce, ana,
second. the demand of the public. The
public did not believe in universalism as ap
piled to the practice of medicine, but they
pinned their faith to some specialist who
had taken up some particular ailment or
organ of the body. "A healthy specialism,
continued Dr. Franklin. has been described
as the practice of special branch of treat
ment the study of a special domain OF
knowledge OF natural and gradual
growth. in the varied experience of a prac-
titioner. Something Hke this has always
existed In medicine, greatly to Its advan-
cialism Of what have heard described as
the mushroom growth variety, where Chi
canery and humbug reign triumphant.
There can be no doubt that honest spe-
cialism has advanced the science and art
of both medicine and surgery, particularly
during the last thirty or forty years, but as
has often been observed in many other lines
of human activity. subdivisions of labor,
while advancing the best interests of the
people at large, have great disadvantages
for those engaged In the work. There Is
then the danger that this modern develop
ment of specialism may tend to produce
narrower type of medical men, who, like
the mechanics, will only know their own
departments OF work, and be unable to un-
derstand properly the relations Of special
portions of the field of medicine to others,
or to the system at large.
From my experience OF practice and pa
tients l make bold to declare that the pub
lie might derive more help and benefit than
they do IL they knew what to have and
what to avoid in the way of specialism.
Now. here is the opportunity, and we'll
defined duty, for the well-educated practi-
toner. He will see to 1t that his patient
shall not. IL he can help 1t, patronize the
false specialist. legally qualified or not. Be-
fore leaving this subject l may take the
opportunity to express my regret that moth
Ing seems to be able to be done to check
the advertising specialists-enterprising ad-
vertisers who claim to cure diseases with
out seeing the patients. who claim to do, in
fact, what is impossible of accomplishment,
and who use the daily press, religious and
magazine publications for fraudulent pur-
poses-for that Is what 1t amounts to- f.