The collective investigation record / edited for the collective investigation committee of the British Medical Association by Professor Humphry and F.A. Mahomed.

  • Mahomed F. A.
Date:
1883-1884
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The collective investigation record / edited for the collective investigation committee of the British Medical Association by Professor Humphry and F.A. Mahomed. 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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    AN A DDK ESS And we may add, that as great mechanical results cannot be obtained without engines framed by^the wit and hands of many men, neither can a knowledge of such facts as we have to deal with be attained without an exact mental and numerical combina- tion of the members of our profession. It will perhaps, and naturally, be objected that it is almost impossible to organize for any useful purpose the labours of men already overburdened by the cares and fatigue of practice, and that there is neither time nor fitness for delicate inquiries on their part. Admitting that this objection is valid, it may be urged in reply that it need not be insuperable; that if this movement makes some demand upon the busy practitioner, he will (as remarked by Mr. Macnamara in his speech on this subject at Birmingham), in proportion to the help he affords in carrying on this work success- fully, receive back quite as much as he gives. That, further, it cannot be denied that when we see the meaning of the apparent trifles which in practice would otherwise oppress and worry us, our burden is thereby much lightened, and that nothing could en- courage us more than to feel that even one daily observation recorded was adding to our general store of knowledge, and making the path of practice more easy. There is no tonic to the mind greater than the sense of work done; and our journey is likely to be made shorter, as it certainly will be easier, if the way is illuminated. We, indeed, owe it to those members of our profession, who are admittedly overwhelmed by the apparently senseless details of their work, to promote a movement like this, the object of which is to bring order into their chaos, and to help them to stamp a scientific value upon facts hitherto only burdensome. If we compare the unflagging interest of any pursuit where the aim is high and clear with the tediousness and wearisomeness felt when working in the dark, we shall readily admit that we are actually lightening the burdens of practice by thus adding to them, and by giving some portion of them a sense and meaning. It is the spirit of a man which enables him to do his work lightly and cheerfully, and he will certainly be helped in this by a combination with fellow-workers on the same subject. There is, however, a further consideration which should weigh with the practising members of our profession. This combination