The Medical profession.

  • Reaney, Michael Foster.
Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The Medical profession. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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

    130/148 (page 114)
    The principle underlying the Act is excellent, but for its satisfactory working the Central Board should consist entirely of medical men,—obstetricians or general practitioners. Only those actually engaged in midwifery practice can have suffi- cient knowledge of the real conditions and necessities of such work to formulate workable regulations, and to see that the spirit of the Act is adequately carried out, UNQUALIFIED PRACTICE. The action of the General Medical Council in 1892, in abso- lutely forbidding the employment of unqualified assistants, was considered in some quarters exceedingly severe on a class of men, who had many good points in their favour. Unqualified assistants, prior to 1892, consisted roughly, of two classes of men ; first, those who had never received the smallest amount of medical training, and whose knowledge, such as it was, had been picked up in a haphazard manner from their employers. The greater majority, however, were men who had gone through more or less of the medical curri- culum, but for some reason or other had failed to pass the necessary examinations. All varieties of this class existed, from men who had only spent a few months at a medical school, to others who had passed all their examinations with the exception of some part of the finals. Many reasons accounted for these men failing to qualify ; in some cases purely pecuniary obstacles had prevented their obtaining their diplomas. Unfortunately, in a very large number of cases, idleness and inebriety were their stumbling blocks. Many people thought that some notice should have been given by the Council, entirely losing sight of the fact that this was no new enactment, but merely a determination to enforce strictly a principle of long standing. Had the Council acted other- wise, they would have been neglecting their duty towards the public. No doubt many an unqualified man was as good a practitioner as his qualified confrere, perhaps even better ; but only time and experience could prove this. The fact of a man holding a qualifying diploma is presumptive of his possessing a certain minimum of knowledge, and is the only safeguard possible in the interest of the public welfare. Unqualified practice,—distinctive from mere quackery,— outside the profession, is more rife than ever to-day ; and is becoming a very serious question for all those with any sincere interest in the welfare of the community at large. There are many varieties of this unqualified practice. First, there is the man who pretends to be a fully-qualified doctor, and who