The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-06-23
REAL SPECIALISTS AND BRASS ONES

| From the letters infer that have no use Tor specialists That is not so. The troube Is that you and have different conceptions of the mean ing of specialism I have little or no use for your kind of specialist But let's not get to calling each other unpleasant names over this Let's see if we | can't reach an understanding. I md that lay- | man, though Terribly dumb and often qune op- | stinate in his notions about matters Of heath physiology hygiene and medicine, now and then | can reason if somebody will only take tne l trouble to explain things to him. know myself 1 haven't enough patience with the layman who comes with that air of knowing sol much about these things My impulse is always to utter G some | casm is wasted on a dumbbeii. lie Just sets nur' | or indignant, where more lntehgent " victim cum would vince, perhaps, but then hes tnink It over and pretty soon he'd back with a grin something like the stage Enslshman seeing the point of the alleged joke.
 A real specialist is a physician who has put in | several years at general practice, as famliy practitioner. and finding himself especially inter ested and perhaps particularly successful in some | special field, he manages to take, say SIX months or a year off and returns to school for postgradu- ate instruction in that special field and then goes | back but not back to the mines. He goes back home and sends his cards to all his medical col | leagues-but never to the public-announcinS that he is limiting his practice to whatever spe- | cialty he elects.
 real specialist does not treat whatever hap pens along. He treats only such cases as are properly within his limited province. He depends not on the direct patronage of the public, but upon the confidence his medical colleagues have in his special ablity-they refer their patients to him for his special examination or treatment or opinion or advice. . they had to wait for physicians to refer cases to | them. for their own colleagues know too well how incompetent and untrustworthy these short cut "specialists" Brass specialists shrewdly appeal to popular creduty and to the ignoramus wseacres who imagine that if a doctor calls him. self specialist he must be better than ordinary doctors. Brass specialists in short, are the shame of modern medicine. Most of them are born spe- cialist-that is they burst upon the world 1resh from medical school with no experience at all In private general practicee. They are the pampered pets of wealthy relations
 A around to half dozen other specialists He makes his own examination, and if he needs fur ther data he asks the family doctor for the in- formation. This may not be so impressive to the | wiseacre customer, but it is more economical and more effective in getting at the patient s
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Plea of Guilty Accepted
 You accused a druggist of being ignorant be- cause he refused to sell copper sulplatc to one of your readers. As n registered druggist of 25 years I must plead guilty to the same kind of ig- norance. If a doctor wishes a patient to have pOisOns for internal use let him write them over his signature. Needless to sey read and enjoy sOnally spend a few hours behind busy drug counter you would view druggists In more charitable light. May remind you that the most popular nostrums have arrived via the prescrtp. tiOn route. (M. A. T.. Pm Go
 Answer-Your plea is accepted: I agree with you about the selling of poisons. But your ignor- ance lies in the notion that grain of copper suphate is poisonous. Of course 1t is not. It Is simply good quick emetic in an emergency. I
 
 too ignorant to write their own prescriptions are the chief agents in the popularization of worth less nostrums. I don't mind calling anybody ig- | norant when he is At that. may be ignorant myself. and may drop around some day and park myself behind your counter and learn some- thing. Thank you. brother.
 Playing Wind Instrumncts Five years ago 1t was noticed that when | talked steadily for while sang the skin on both sides of my throat puncd out. I went to the | hospital and found out it was blowing up by air | and that there danger. I am IS and want to know fl 1t would be all right for me to play . wOOd-wind musical instrument. (J. S.) Answer-Ordnarily there is no harm In the playing of wind instruments. You had better be guided by the advice of the doctor who examined you.
 | Your Ownalysls
 | Please tell me what to dO when the urine dis. c0l0rs the vessel with reddish sediment. tM. l.. @
 | Answsr-Weil don't turn in . Ire alarm or Eend for the ambulance. You might try eating more fresh fruit or fruit juices or fresh green vegetables or reshes.
 | skin ktiil ncmains lmperviOus How can yOu reconcile this article with your cialnl thnt nothing can 70 through the unbFoken | 0r n0Ffsni skin2 tMrs c. O.
 | Answef--I zee no need for a reconciliation, | rhn article tells Of some attempts Co lnimunlxe children nRainM diphtheria by rubbing the toK' | inshntiiOAn on OF Unto" the skin inniend 0f in. ifetinR lt Into the Hkln Academic, my dear Wat