Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-25

| Culebra; E. A. Vickery, to the Southery; r.
| Il. Stops, to the Pensacola: r. G. Heiner.
| to the navy yard. Washington city. H. A.
| Nay. to the Franklin; j. l.. Belknap and l..
| ii. Wheeler, to the naval hospital. Nara
| eansett, r.. l.; w. ID. Owens to the naval
hospital. Mare Island. Cal: F. E. Porter. to
the naval hospital. Norfolk; w. A. Angwin.
| to the Naval Academy; o. j. Mink. to the
| naval hospital, New York: N. T. Mclean, to
the naval hospital Chelsea. Mass; w. g..
Farwell and d. c. Gather, to the naval hos
pital, New York; H. w. Cole, jr.. to the
naval hospital, Norfolk, and C. E. Strife. to
the naval hospital, Norfolk.
Objects of the School.
The United States Medical School was
established on the historic site of the Did
naval observatory three years ago. and has
already demonstrated it's usefulness. Its
purpose is the instruction and training of
newly appointed medical officers, fresh
from civil life, in professional branches
peculiar to naval requirements, as well IS
in the methods of naval work as applied to
their profession The first session of the
| school was completed April 4. 1903. by the
graduation of a class OF twelve members
Its experience since has been most graft
flying to the officials of the Navy DEPART
ment as tending to greatly improve the
efficiency of an important branch OF the
service.
| The need of preliminary course of in
| struction for the Junior officers of the med
| ical corps before taking up active naval
duty was fully demonstrated in the class
work of the first year and since then even
! greater progress has been made.
Experience of the examining boards or
! both the army and the navy has shown
| conclusively that the educational advan-
| tageS offered by most of the medical col
| leges of the country in their prescribed
courses are not sufficient to fit their grad
yates for the specialized work expected by
| government services, knowledge of which
| is made more and more necessary by every
| accession of outlying and isolated territory.
| The army and navy medical officer must
| be a specialist in many branches OF his
| profession.
Unlike his cassmate who has entered In
| to the practice of his profession in civil life,
he, on shipboard, or at small stations or
posts remote from civilization, has no spe-
| cialist consultant or laboratory expert at
| his elbow to help him with his difficult or
| perpleXing cases. or to give him the en-
| couragement of established reputation in
solving the larger problems which apply to
| the health and welfare of communities III
| his charge. He must be his own consaltant
| and abora tory expert, as he must also bear
| alone the responsibility of danger to the
| community dependent upon MIN for sanf-
| tary safety. 1t is only fair, also, that he
| should be grounded in the customs and
traditions of naval life, customs of which
| civilians beginning a naval career are pro-
| foundly ignorant. His efficiency as naval
| officer is enhanced by his observance of
| these traditions.
Postgraduate Course.
1t was for these and other reasons that
| the existing ost-graduate course was
| adopted for the novitiate in the naval mcdi-
| cal corps. The esta blishment of the school
| in this city was originally inspired by the
| fact that by doing it could take advan-
| tage of the excellent accommodations Of
| fered by the museum of hygiene for a
5caool building, and also because of the
many other advantages in the matter of
| securing a faculty and skilled instructors
| in special branches of the profession.
The building of the museum of hygiene
has been remodeled so as to prove pecu-
| liarly suited for the additional purposes of
| the medical school. The laboratories are
well situated and are modelled and equipped
to equal any modern establishment of their
class. The lecture room and other divisions
of the school building are ample in size for
the purpose of the school. without any en-
croachment on the space used for the
museum proper.
With the completion of the new naval
hospital on the grounds of the Museum of
Hygiene and Medical School, provided for
by action of Congress, largely increased
facilities will be added to the school for
practical instruction. The faculty antici-
pates that during the next six years it will
be possible to assemble a class of from 30
to 40 members at each session, and the
outlook is most promising for furnishing the
service with weil-trained and equipped
medical officers to fill the corps up to the
complement authorized by the Fifty-seventh
Congress.
1t is the purpose of the Navy Department
to enlarge the sphere of usefulness of this
school by extending the privileges of its
laboratories and course Of special instruc-
ton to medical officers of the navy when
ever the increase of the corps has removed
the necessity for continuous active service
of the medical officers and when the public
exigency permits their being so employed
for brief periods.
Comment of Surgeon General
In his last annual report the surgeon
general of the navy referred to the work
of the school as follows:
THE manifest appreciation of the privi-
! leges afforded by the school on the part of
| the students and the industry displayed.
| has demonstrated the utility of the pre-
scribed course. With the broadening of
| the field of professional training there has
resulted an increase of efficiency for per-
| Torrance of the details of the duties of a
| medical officer in which the naval service
| has a decided and continuous interest. The
| instructors at the school have been at the
same time performing the duties of mem
bers of the medical examining board, and
their work has been able and earnest.
THE school has been most fortunate in
| having the hearty interest and sympathetic
| cooperation of the local medical profession.
| Most efficient and courtesous assistance has
| been given by the Army Medical School
| and the medical department of the Column
| bian University. The work of instruction
by the faculty has been supplemented in
the most valuable way by the gratuitous
assistance of eminent scholars and scien-
lists, whose lectures enriched the course
| and whose services have been highly ap-
preciated.''