The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1907-04-05


inevitable slovenliness in methods of
work.
We should strive in our societies to
lay foundation for unity and friend
ship, which is essential to the dignity
and usefulness of the profession. Yes,
unity and friendship. How we all long
for them! but how difficult to attain
Strife seems rather to be the very
life Of the practitioner. whose warfare
is incessant against disease, and
against ignorance and prejudice, and
sad to have to admit, he too often lets
his angry passions rise against his
professional brother. The quarrels Of
doctors make pretty chapter in the
history of medicine.
When science has fully eavened the
dough of homeopathy the great breach
of our day will be healed But in toe
many towns and smaller communities
miserable factions prevail and bicker.
ings and jealousies mar the dignity
and usefulness Of the profession. So
far as my observation goes, the fault
lies with the older men, and right here,
my professional brethren, is the cry
ing need of medical, dental, pharma-
ceutical and nurse training societies
to cement and hold us together, for
in union there is great strength. The
meeting is friendly, social way to lead
to free and open discussion of differ.
ences in spirit that refuses to recog
nize differences of opinion on the non
essentials of life as the cause of per.
sonal animosity or i'll feeling. An at.
titude of mind habitudlly friendly
more particularly to the young man,
even though you feel him to be the
David to whom your kingdom may
fall, little Of the old fashion courtesy
which makes man shrink from
wounding the feeling of a brother
practitioner, in honor pleferring one
another, with such a spirit abroad in
the society and among it's older men,
there Is no reason for any hatred, NAL
ace or any uncharitablenesS. 1t is the
confounded tales Of patients that so
often set us by the ears, but if a man
makes 1t rule never under any cir.
cumstances to believe a story told by
patient to the detriment of fellow
practitioner, even If he knows it to be
true; though the measure he metes
may not be measured to him again, he
will have the satisfaction of knowing
that he has closed the ears of his soul
to SO lies, and the hundredth truth
will not hurt him.
Most of the quarrels Of doctors are
about non-essentials, miserable tri
fles and annoyances the pinprick of
practice, which would some times try
the patience Of Job, but the good fel
lowship and friendly intercourse of the
medical society should reduce those
to minimum. The well conducted
medical society should represent a
clearing house, in which every physi-
clan Of the district would receive his
intellectual rating, and in which he
could find out his professional assets,
and liabilities. We doctors do not
take stock often enough, and are very
apt to carry on our shelves stale, out
of date goods. The society helps to
keep man up to the times, and en-.
ables him to refurnish his mental sho
with the latest wares. Rightly used
it may be a touch-stone to which he
can bring his experiences to the test
and save him from following in the rut
of few sequences. 1t keeps his mind
open, and receptive and counteracts
that tendency to premature senility.
which is apt to overtake man who
lives in routine. After receiving our
medical education in the different col
leges of the country, whose doors are
not closed in our faces, and every
month or two we strengthen our medi-
cal assets, by meeting together and
exchanging ideas and thoughts, we at
last find ourselves handicapped; for the
majority of the hospitals in the South
land are either closed to us or our
patients and most assuredly to our
nurses.
Can it then be said that we do not
need hospitals? AS a race we are
well supplied with churches, and part
ly so with schools, but we are sadly in
need of modern up to date hospitals,
wherein we can give our patients the
best surgical, to say nothing about the
medical treatment that each individual
case may demand. This is not the
only reasons why we should build hos
pitals, and help those that are already
struggling for existence. 1t opens the
way for the women Of our race to be
come trained nurses, and earn spleu
did living in having a vocation in
which each must lead busy, useful