Medicine in the United States, and its relations to coöperative investigation.

  • Billings, John S. (John Shaw), 1838-1913.
Date:
[1887]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Medicine in the United States, and its relations to coöperative investigation. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    of selection into narrow limits, almost into a small in- tercept of space of one dimension, as a mathematician would say. What is the significance of this invitation extended for the first time to a physician of another country, and that country the United States, to come to this annual gathering of the medical men of Great Britain and give the address in medicine ? Does it not mean recognition of the unity of medicine, of the utility of cooperation, of the fact that we have common interests, and that the time has come when it is desirable to hear from the outlying younger branch of the family with a view to mutual pleasure and profit in the future ? So it seems to me; and I propose, there- fore, to call your attention briefly to some points relating to the present condition and future prospects of medicine in the United States, and to the direction in which you may reasonably hope and expect from that country in the future the most useful cooperation in the improve- ment of medical science and art. I believe that these must be matters of interest to you, and that I can per- haps make clear certain peculiarities which do not seem to be as generally understood on this side of the Atlan- tic, as it is desirable that they should be, to insure sound judgment upon some of the results observed. In the first place, permit me to call your attention to the fact that it is hardly possible to make any state- ments with regard to medicine in, or the medical pro- fession of, the United States as a whole, which shall be definite and at the same time distinctive; that is, which will not apply almost equally well to medicine and the medical profession in other countries. This is due to the fact that there are great differences in the organiza- tion of the profession in different parts of America, so that what is true of one State would not be true of an- other ; what is required as to fitness or qualification to practise in one place is not required in another; and the country covers so many parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude, making the conditions of life so diverse, and producing such differences in the prevail- ing diseases, that a man who is fairly qualified to prac- tise in one section may be poorly fitted to treat the endemic diseases of another. As in painting a picture, it is best to locate and define the shadows first, and deal with the lights afterward, let us begin by considering some of the things that Ameri- can physicians complain about; in other words, some