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Show B V ur Ways of the Medical Profession. I j H EFORE us is the address delivered by Dr. J j HI H. D. Niles on his election as president of I flfl the Medical Society of this state. His Vf flfl theme was "The Relations That Should Exist S& fll Between the Medical Profession and tho General KB Public." It is a most able paper. It claims that "A j JB8 tho medical association of this country, number- ! 'j M ing 30,000 active and earnest men, were never ; ff flfl more worthy of public confidence than at the '3s KB present time. 1,0 bQ The underlying thought in the opening sen- "j j I H tences seems to be that the profession Is. not !i HI appi eclated. We believe this is true, but the j flfl doctor himself gives the reason in this sentence: Uh flfl "Before we can reasonably expect the public to J fj IH seek or accept any counsel or opinions of the j ' j ' fl medical profession, or give them any substantial jj fr H support, we must make plain to them their needs , j H and our ability to supply those needs. We must ' y , nil prove to them that we deserve their aid and sup- jufl port and that they stand in urgent need of our V jr j flfl technical knowledge." ' ' I j HH That is exactly the point. The business house rf 4 Dal that does not advertise goes to the wall. The ' 1 j Kfl quack that Dr. Niles complains of does advertise, ' F f HI and when tho friendless one needs the help of a i ' t flfl physician he goes to those who make their names ;J j Ral and their cures known. By this we do not mean ' EM that tho reputable physicians should each adver- k ; HH tiso his success as does a milliner a new bonnet, , ( mjm but how can a stranger or even the average citi- Oil zon disci iminate when he reads that A, B, C, and '' flvjl so on through the alphabet are all physicians and hf ! Bfa surgeons? j !' Ell The exclusiveness of the ethics of the phy- Hfl sician keeps the public from getting acquainted i ( with him, or getting even an introduction jp him. j J Bl It is different with the lawyer. The populace if , Hfl throng a court room when any trial of Importance ' t Hfl 1 RH In ji B I is on, and every one present goes out to discuss K I and sound the praises of certain lawyers. But B g the physician has a case, perhaps an obscure one, H Iffl but he exhausts his science to pull the patient I through. ' How many ever hear of it? Or a surgical case ' most Intricate appeals to the surgeon, and he performs what would have -been an impossibility thirty years ago. Who knows of it? Perhaps t one trained nurse and three brother surgeons, j and that is all. How do physicians and surgeons ' expect to draw appreciation to their work when they close the door against the world? Dr. Niles complains that while men would denounce de-nounce careless railroad employees, they will 1 employ Incompetent practitioners when their , lives are at stake. That city officials who would demand skilled architects to erect a public build-l build-l ing, are careless about enforcing quarantine or- 1 dinances. That men and women, are careful J about the selection of a cook, but careless about the physicians they employ. , H That men vote immense sums to support an 1 army and navy, but look with indifference while ! 500,000 human beings die annually of preventable or curable diseases. That is all true, but it is not because the ( t people are indifferent; it is simply that they are KB r '::! uninstructed and the ethics of the medical profession pro-fession so hedge the members of it around that the people remain uninstructed. Dr. Niles proposes as a remedy- for this that the medical society select from their yearly pro ceedings one or more appropriate articles, and under the name of the society offer them for publication. That is all right as far as it goes, but that does not meet the want; that would not get the profession into any closer walk with the public. That retains the exclusivenesa of the present methods. Why should not the hospitals report any extraordinary ex-traordinary case of illness, or of surgery, and name the physicians and surgeons in attendance? There is no other subject of so much importance, for thousands in and out of the hospitals need help and would fain get the best help possible. There is very high authority for men "not to hide their light under a bushel." The constitution which puts the limitations on the ethics that control con-trol the medical profession should be amended. A lawyer may make a reputation on a single case that will insure him a lucrative practice. Is the money of his client more sacred than the life of the client's wife or child? The public want to know the best physicians and surgeons if they can but get an introduction to them. |