The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-06-30

nothing else but surgery. The
apothecary was trained in the
same way, never learned any
surgery and corresponded TO the
internist or general practitioner
of our day.
Obstetrics was in the hands OF
the midwives. Then, as the science
of anatomy and microscopy and
physiology and knowledge Of bac-
terra grew, it was seen that
those fundamental principles were
necessary for all practitioners TO
know and we had an era when,
while there were few specialists,
most doctors practiced in all fields.
New Type Specialist
Then knowledge widened still
further and the technical pro-
cedures in such fields as the eye
and surgery became so compi-
Gated that a man had to devote
his whole life to the requirement
of the definite skills and the new
age Of specialism developed.
We are living in that era and
we will probably never get away
from the specialist again, but Of
late new conception has come
over every doctors thought which
leads us back once more TO the
general practitioner. This is the
conception Of the whole man. 1t
has been named psycho-somatic
medicine-from psyche-soul, and
soma-body.
Basically it calls attention to
the age old idea that when a man
is sick, when he has a fever, not
onl;' his body is sick, but also his
soul. And when you give a man
a drug to treat his sickness the
drug affects not only his body but
also his soul.
The more complicated a man is
the more complicated his life
situation is, the more factors en-
ter into the picture. Economic
factors, social factors and psy-
Geological factors. Sometimes q
patient is never cured until he
changes his job or the town where
be lives, or, familiar enough in
these days of divorce, change,
his wife.
Even the industrial surgeons
have found that they cannot prac-
tice full preventive medicine un-
less they find out about what kind
Of man they are dealing with.
For instance, have a study be-
fore me made by DR.. Flanders
Dunbar, Of New York, on the de-
lection Of workers who are prone
to have accidents in an industrial
plant.
Now certainly an accident is a
matter Of medical or surgical in
terest. And, of course, a man is
prone to have accidents if he is
too young or too weak, or partially
deaf or blind. But eliminating all
such physical considerations there
is kind of personality who is
accident-prone and DR.. Dunbar
has made a list Of twelve charac-
teristics that, according to his ex-
perience, distinguish the accident
prone worker.
l. First he enjoys better than
average health with no tendency
to colds, indigestion, dietary fads,
etc. That looks strange at first,
but it probably means that the
fellow who is perfectly sure he is
in the best Of health crashes along
and exposes himself to trouble
where the more sickly fellow 10
timid about taking chances.
2. lmpulsiveness Of action I'M
der stress.
8. Failure to finish school.
4. Spontaneous and casual In
social relations.
B. Frequently changes jobs.
8. Apparently gets along all
right with members of the op-
posite sex, but irresponsible
toward husband or wife.
7. Interest in machinery.
8. No interest in philosophy be.
yond firm belief in. fate.
9. Makes up mind quickly.
10. Alcohol and tobacco used 10
let of steam, not for social pur-
poses.
II. Frequent conflicts with au-
thority.
~. Record Of broken homes
his own and parents.