Medical education and the midwife problem in the United States / J. Whitridge Williams.

  • Williams, J. Whitridge (John Whitridge), 1866-1931.
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Medical education and the midwife problem in the United States / J. Whitridge Williams. 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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    Similar conditions, I presume, obtain in most of our schools in all branches of medicine, as the incumbency of a professorial chair is not usually regarded as a serious matter, and is desirable only as a means of intro- duction to lucrative private practice. Of course, it is possible that a considerable number of those accepting professorships in this spirit may do competent work, but at the same time it is depressing to learn that only eight of the entire number of professors deliberately set out to prepare themselves thoroughly for their life work. QUESTION IX What was your preparation for teaching? Prior to assuming their professorial duties, twenty- one, or slightly less than one-half of the entire number of professors, served for varying periods in lying-in hos- pitals. In eleven instances the service varied from one to five months, in five it extended over six months, while in five others it covered one or more years. Such a confession appears highly depressing, but on further consideration it must be admitted that it is about what might be expected in this country; as twenty- five of the professors graduated twenty or more years ago, when very few lying-in hospitals were in existence, and those poorly equipped and offering but slight oppor- tunity for clinical observation. Such conditions, how- ever, are in marked contrast with those obtaining in Germany and France, where the first requirement for a professorial career is a long period of preparation in a well-equipped lying-in hospital with abundant clinical material. At the same time, it must be noted that the preparation of a considerable number of our professors was augmented by service for varying periods in more or less well-organized out-patient departments. Even more serious than the lack of rigorous hospital training, is the appallingly slight experience which many had before being appointed to professorships. The replies indicate that only nine of the entire number had seen 1,000 or more cases of labor, and twenty-two others considerably less, while eleven obtained their practical experience solely from an indefinite number of cases in private practice. Moreover, it is interesting to note that one professor admits that he had never seen a woman delivered before assuming his professorship, while five