An introductory lecture on the comparative state of the profession of medicine, and of medical education in the United States and Europe : session MDCCCXLVI-VII / by John Revere.

  • Revere, John, 1787-1847.
Date:
1846-7 [i.e. 1846]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An introductory lecture on the comparative state of the profession of medicine, and of medical education in the United States and Europe : session MDCCCXLVI-VII / by John Revere. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    regular courses in the principal institutions are only continued from four to five months, though instructions in some of the departments are ac- tually going on for five or six months, or even longer. These are the essential differences between the prominent medical institutions of Europe and this country. Many of the institutions in this country, as regards the facilities they offer to the students for acquiring a know- ledge of their profession are of a high character. In the convenience of their buildings, the extent of museums, the facilities for dissection, the tone and character of the lectures, and the ability and zeal of their teachers ; we may say, without boasting, in all these respects, that the chief medical schools of the United States will compare not disadvan- tageously with those of Europe. We do not pretend that our system is perfect, or that it may not be improved by a judicious and temperate course by those who are the best informed on this subject. The course pursued by the mass of medical students in the United States is generally as follows :—They are, for the most part, the sons of the most respectable of our citizens, who being generally well edu- cated themselves, have extended to their children every advantage of this kind in their power. They seldom commence the study of medi- cine until they are about twenty years of age. They usually pass the first year in the office of some respectable practitioner in their neigh- bourhood, and attend their first course of lectures, dissecting and seeing hospital practice. The next two years are spent in the office of their preceptor reading and seeing the local diseases to a greater or less extent, (an object of far greater importance in this country than Great Britain) and generally, as they advance in their studies, assisting their teacher in his practice. Towards the close of their pupillage they again resort to the schools for their second course of lectures at the termination of which, before they can become candidates for the docto- rate, they are required to produce their credentials, proving that they are twenty-one years of age ; are of good moral character ; have stu- died medicine, for at least three years, under some respectable practi- tioner ; and have attended two full courses of lectures ; the proofs on all these points are rigidly enforced. After this the candidates are sub- jected to a critical examination, which, if passed satisfactorily, entitles them to their degree—if doubtfully, to a second examination ; if unsa- tisfactorily, they are rejected, and must study another year. The pro- fessors know that the value of the diploma of each school depends on the facilities which it can offer for imparting professional knowledge, and the evidence which this document furnishes of the probable quali- fication of the possessor ; they are well aware, theiefore, of the neces- sity of keeping a high standard on all these points, and, that their diploma would become worthless and their class-rooms deserted, should the public have just cause even of doubt, as to their fidelity on these important points. Conscious of this, the candidates are most anxious to present themselves well prepared for their examinations. The soli- citude exhibited by them and the efforts they make, especially during the last course of lectures, to accomplish this, cannot be surpassed and