Remarks on THE TEACHING OF HYGIENE
Authors: W. W. Jameson
Journal: BMJ (1928)

ALL practitioners of medicine must of' necessity be doctors or teachers as well as healers of the' sick, and I can' thitak of nio subject more likely to arouse general;interest than that chosen by the officers of the Public Health Section for discussion to-day.It was-'o-riginally intended that' three speakers should open the,discussionone dealing with the training of health workers, another with the teaching of hygiene to school children, and, a third with public educa- tion in health.Unforeseen .circumstances,have unfor- tunately made it necessary -for-me to introduce to.your' -notice all three aspects of'the question.I shall ceideavour to deal mainly with :principles"'and-leave the discussion of details to subsequent speakers.THE TRAINING OF HEALTH WORKERS.Of recent developments.inconnexion with post-graduate public health teaching I7 'propose, to say nothing.; and I shall rather confine my remarks to the teaching of pre- ventive medicine to 'medical'-students and to the training of certain miiembers of the subordinate health services.Medical-Stuident$.Let me sav first 'of all that 'there is no more important person in the ranks, of health workters than the general practitioner of me.dicine.H,e can do much to make or to mar any effort put forward by the more specialized public health service, and if the greatest imieasure of success is to attend our work the general practitioner must under- stand our aims and must fit-into each of our schemes.To -enable him to do this -he must be given a correct sense of proportion when a medical'student.You will recollect that in the revised medical-curriculum of the General Medical Council it -is laid down that the subjects of hygiene and public health should be included in every course of professional "study and examination, and that courses of instruction in these-'subjects should be taken concurrently with the' lafer: stages of clinical instruction.The Council further..resolved that throughout the whole period of study the attention of the student should be directed by his teachers to the importance of the pre- ventive aspects of medicine.I am never quite clear in my mind as to where hygiene, ends,'and.publichealth begins, and, so far as miiedical students-are concerned-, I would rather refer to the-'whole spibject as'.preventive m4dicin6e-Such a title makes' a more definite 'appeal to'the average medical student, amid every effort to capture his interest is worth making.Great `differe"n''es exist 'between .. the courses of instruction in' preventive medicine given-in the various medical schools; both in regard to the number of lectures (and, may' I add, the payments made' to the lecturers) and in regard' to -the subjects -disctrsed.In certain schools, mainly. in London, ten or a dozen lectures seem all that can be included in the curriciulum, whereas in the provincial universities twenty, thirty, or, even nore lectures may be given.-:'This is probably due to -the fact that the provincial `medical officer 'of health, has' usually a much greater influence on the policy'of his' local medical school than is possible in-the 'case of his metropolitan confrere.Then it is the practice in certain.schools to devote a considerable amount of tim.e to-.lectures -on