The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-09-20
MEDICAL FAILURES.
An Authority Says Three-Fourths OF
Graduates Are United to Practice.

leges each year are wholly untitled to
practice medicine and are menaces TO
the communities In which they set,
tie was stated by Dr. Chester Mayer,
Of the State Board of Medical Exam.
iners OF Kentucky at meeting of the
American Medical Associations Com
mittee on Medical Education. held In
Chicago not long ago Dr. Mayer said
that only Is to Is per cent of the
graduates are qualified. Fifty.eight
per cent of the graduates examined In
rs states were refused licenses. With
few exceptions these failures took a
second examination In few weeks
and only SO per cent of them passed.
This does not mean that deficien.
cieR in their training were corrected
In those few weeks" DR.. Mayer said,
1T probably shows that experience
showed them what the test would
probably be and they 'crammed for
the examination, DR., w. r. Colt,
Secretary of the Indiana Board said:
THE majority OF our schools now
teach their students how to pass ex.
aminations, not how TO be good ply.
sicians"
At the session e. the american
Medical Association held In Atlantic
City in June, Or. NJ Clayton Thrush,
a professor in the Medico Chlrnrgieal
College in Philadelphia said: Many
doctors turned out of the Medical
Schools are SO ignorant In matters
pertaining TO pharmacy that they
know nothing about the properties
of the drugs they prescribe for their
patients!' Dr. Henry Beats, Jr., Pres.
ident of the Pennsylvania State Board
of Medical Examiners, after scrutiniz-
Ing the papers of class of candi.
dates for licensure said: About one
quarter of the papers show a degree
of illiteracy that renders the candi.
dates for licensure incapable of UNI
derstanding medicine"
A great many more physicians and
chemists might be quoted in support
OF the astounding charge that 5000 in
competents are being dumped onto
an unsuspecting public each year.
What the damage done amounts to
can never be estimated for these in.
competents enjoy the privilege of d.
agnoslng, prescribing or dispensing
drugs regarding the properties of
which they know nothing and then
Of signing death certificates that are
not passed upon by anyone unless the
coroner Is called in. Probably there
is not grave yard from one end Of
the country to the other that does not
contain the buried evidences of the
mistakes or criminal carelessness OF
physicians.
During the last year there have
been perhaps, half dozen known
cases where surgeons, after perform.
Ing operations have sewed up the in
cisions without first removing the
gauze sponges used to absorb the |
blood, and in some cases forceps and |
even surgeons scissors have been |
eft In the wound. How many of
ihese cases there have been, where
he patient died, there is no means
ii knowing and comparatively few
If the cases where the discovery is
made In time to save life become gen
rally public. Reports from Santa.
'iunss for the treatment of the Drug
Habit show that members of the medi-
al profession are more often treated
n these institutions than members
" any other profession, and that a
majority of the patients, excluding the
physicians themselves, can trace
heir downfall directly to careless
physician.
How many criminal operations are
reformed by physicians is also a
natter OF conjecture. Operations of
his class are, unfortunately, very
requent In large cities. Some gradu.
ted and licensed physicians, many
{ them of supposed responsibility,
lake an exclusive practice of Grim.
nal medical and surgical treatment.
n. Henry @. w. Rheinhart, Coroner's
MUSICIAN of Chicago, estimates the
lumber OF criminal operations, annu-
lily, IN Chicago alone at $4,000. How
lany resulted fatally are unknown,
when death results, the real cause
disguised in the death certificate,
hich the physician signs, and which
0 one but himself and a clerk sees. I
Probably not one case of malprac. I
CO In 1000 ever becomes the subject /
law suit but In the last yeaNap- .
'oximately 100 cases wherein the
aintif has alleged malpractice have
zen reported IN the newspapers, and
wing to the social prominence and I
Q favored positions OF many physi- :
ans not more than half the new d
Its stated, probably, result In any :
'wspaper publicity, but II would q
obably not be an exaggeration to .
ate that the total cases OF malprac-
'e, not involving criminal operations
criminal medical practice, would
iount to 100000 or more than one : J,
Sc to each physician in the country. !
lis estimate is, Of course. more or
IS conjecture. untimely deaths and =
rmanent disabilities are frequent, Y
d occur within the knowledge Of al 7
,st every one, when life could have =
en- saved, or health restored had
physician been skillful careful
d competent. =