How shall the degree of doctor of medicine be conferred? / by E. Fletcher Ingals.

  • Ephraim Fletcher Ingals
Date:
1879
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: How shall the degree of doctor of medicine be conferred? / by E. Fletcher Ingals. 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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    nine months each, prior to examination ; yet we think the desired result can be obtained without this arrangement. Practically it matters not where the student gets his informa- tion, or how long he is in obtaining it; if he has the requisite knowledge, he should be allowed to graduate; however, as a knowledge of medicine must necessarily come from long and ar- duous study, probably no injustice would be done by requiring four full years of medical reading and three courses of lectures prior to graduation. In justice to students, we believe the colleges should institute preliminary examinations, or require other satis- factory evidence of a thorough English education, before admis- sion to their classes ; for it is clearly unfair to lead a student to believe he can graduate, to waste his time and accept his money and then refuse to give him a degree because he is ignorant of his mother tongue; and certainly, in this age there is no such pressing need for physicians as to excuse the graduation of those not thoroughly qualified. We would not demand a familiarity with the ancient languages, for although their utility is beyond question, they are not essential if the English be thoroughly un- derstood. If the convention considers the question of requiring attend- ance on a specified number of courses, the question of fees is likely to arise, and it may be attempted to secure uniformity in this respect. Such an attempt would doubtless lead to discord, for if uniformity in fees were secured, it would militate against the interests of the weaker colleges. The different colleges should remain free to charge as much or as little as they please, except- ing the graduation fee ; this latter should be substituted by an examination fee of five or ten dollars (sufficient to cover all ex- penses attending the examination and issuing of degrees), and no part of this amount should in any case be refunded. In lieu of the graduation fee, colleges might add something to their fees for each course. This arrangement would cost the col- leges nothing ; it would be just to students and would remove the opportunity which the public now has for charging the colleges with mercenary motives in graduating some members of their classes. To repeat, we would suggest preliminary examinations, and an
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