A scheme of medical tuition / by E.A. Parkes.

  • Parkes, Edmund A. (Edmund Alexander), 1819-1876.
Date:
1868
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A scheme of medical tuition / by E.A. Parkes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    Hud give him sure ground at every point; and then, when he had some idea of elementary points, to explain in a few clear lectures the generalLsations which bind together and explain the scattered facts he has practically learnt 1 What would be wanted for such a course ] Laboratories, which are supposed already to exist; apparatus and tests, which would nob be costly ; a carefully-prepared official text book, current in all schools, arranged with daily lessons so as to form a series of steps; some simple directions given at the commencement of each day's work, and a general superintendence which would be easy on the part of the teacher and his assistants. If a winter session lasted for five months, and if two hours daily were given to the laboratory work, a sound chemical foundation would be laid which a student would never forget, for he wou.ld have made every fact his own. At a certain period in this coui'se, say after three months had elapsed, a formal lecture by the teacher for five days in the week during two months would perhaps be sufficient in the present state of chemistry to give the student a clear though brief epitome of the philosophy of the science. AjDart from the comparative ease of learning the subject in this way, two points would be gained. There would be no difficulty in the teacher assuring himself that the work had been done. A glance almost would show him how the student was spending his time in the laboratory : and if one day per week out of the six were assigned for a practical examination of the week's work, the progress of the student could not escape being measured. A compulsory written examination at the end of each month's formal lectures would test the attainments of that part of the course, and would not be too great labour for the teacher. The second gaiu would be, that uniformity would be introduced into the teaching; that every student would know exactly what he had to do, and every examining body would see the limits within which their examina- tion must fall, I know, however, that this last point, which to me appears such a gain, would be differently viewed by others, who would object that a selection of study and a limitation of examina- tion must be bars to progress. On this point I shall have to remark hereafter. If some scheme like this were adopted, the student in his fii-st winter session should work at first; for two, and then for the last