Distinction without separation : in a letter to the president of the College of Surgeons, on the present state of the profession / Joseph Henry Green.

  • Green Joseph Henry, 1791-1863.
Date:
1831
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Distinction without separation : in a letter to the president of the College of Surgeons, on the present state of the profession / Joseph Henry Green. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    PREFACE. —❖— The following observations formed the sequel of a pam- phlet issued a few years ago on a subject of temporary- interest. A few copies have remained in my possession, and as there never was a more critical period in the history of the General Practitioner than the present, I have ventured to detach this part of the work in the hope that its circu- lation will be beneficial. The General Practitioner, before he obtains authority to practise, is now required to present evidence of a liberal education, and must produce testi- monials of a very extended process of scientific and pro- fessional instruction. This, however, alone will not secure to him the public confidence. The habits of the young medical man are more closely scrutinized than those of other young men entering upon life, and confidence will be long with- held from him—especially in the department tliat identifies him so closely vvith family affairs—if his deportment be not in accordance with his professional acquirement, and not tending to the progressive increase of his knowledge. Various schemes have been proposed to place the General Practitioner in a new position as it regards other depart- ments of the faculty. Some of these plans do not comport with the dignity of a liberal and enlightened profession. They involve means which impede rather than promote success—and which, were they to prove successful, would leave a blot on the reputation for which the advantages obtained would afford no adequate equivalent. One chimerical suggestion—of uniting the different orders of the profession into one class—with, indeed, some broad lines of division—has the sanction of a name that gives weight to the proposition;—and it is sent forth endorsed with a title well adapted to secure its acceptance. The author may have the credit of good intention, but as it bears on the General Practitioner (whose mental resources he does not duly appreciate) we are reminded of the trite anecdote of the man, who, being officious and troublesome to a commander and his crew during a tempest, was directed to hold a rope with all his might lest the vessel should be