Frederic Thomas Lewis

“ The incalculable advantages of such a combination course must commend themselves at a glance, alike to would-be medical students who realize the value of an academic degree to the physician, and to candidates for an academic degree who contemplate a medical career and hesitate before the length of time demanded by its preparatory work. Not only should protest be made against reducing the college work to two years, but much might be said in favor of four years, leading to the master's degree. ”

“ College Physiology and Hygiene.—Some colleges offer courses in physiology which are dilute presentations of medical school work. Thus, in one course, the student may be taught something of human anatomy, physiology, hygiene and medical bacteriology, all of which may be useful for those who are not intending to study medicine. It is wholly undesirable for the medical student to take time from other college work for the sake of such courses. ”

“ That Professor Tyndall is unable to draw anything as seen from anywhere, I observe to be a matter of much self-congratulation to him; such inability serving farther to establish the sense of his proud position as a man of science, above us poor artists who labor under the disadvantage of being able with some accuracy to see, and with some fidelity to represent, what we wish to talk about. ”

“ It is a serious mistake to begin work in a modern laboratory of physiology before taking a thorough college course in general physics.
Mathematics.—The value of mathematics for medicine is indirect, since it is required chiefly in preparation for physics. The student taking such a course in physics as has been recommended, should have had algebra, plane geometry and plane trigonometry. These courses come normally within the province of any good high school program. For advanced work in physics, solid geometry and higher mathematics are needed. ”

“ The biological methods which the student should have learned in college include dissection and microscopic technic. It requires but little imagination to compare the work of two students beginning human dissection—one producing a set of instruments which he has already used, and proceeding to follow in minute detail structures similar to those which he has previously studied in the cat or rabbit; the other attempting to learn the general plan of the body and how to dissect, while he is supposed to be mastering the minutiae of human anatomy. ”

“ French and German.—Since much of the progress of medicine is recorded in French and German publications, it is desirable, and in several schools it is required, that students should be able to read both of these languages. A beginning should be made before entering college. Courses in general literature, with practise in writing and speaking, will be found more profitable than those which are restricted to reading scientific prose. The importance of French and German in medicine is indicated by the number of periodicals in these languages for which medical libraries subscribe. ”

“ A university student who enters on the subject of botany or zoology is really crippled unless he can draw. He will make much slower progress; and will not have the best means of recording what he sees. And yet it is only a small percentage of the young men who now come to Harvard College that have any capacity for drawing. ”

“ Occasionally a college announces a course on some one group of animals, such as the protozoa, insects, or worms, as desirable in preparation for medicine. The knowledge of these groups obtained from the general course should be sufficient for a practitioner. The theoretical and statistical study of variation and heredity has only a general interest for medical students, and courses in systematic zoology are of still less importance. ”

“ To perceive accurately is not only a source of great enjoyment in itself, but to a certain extent it is an aid to the practising physician. One medical school in the United States recommends drawing for admission, and another provides instruction in anatomical drawing as an elective course. ”

“ A graduating class has recently been told that "At the bedside science is sometimes a hindrance." Scientific knowledge is often contrasted with common sense and sympathetic humanity, as if they were incompatible and the patient must choose between them. The medicinal effect of a merry heart, known since the time of Solomon, has been rediscovered with great eclat, and the physician whom Holmes described as having a smile "commonly reckoned as being worth five thousand dollars a year to him" has his successors. ”

“ The Value of Research.—Some teachers believe that the original investigation of a subject in science, since it compels the student to think for himself and to depend upon his own observations, is worth several regular courses as a preparation for medical study. ”

“ Physics.—Many students who are careful to take courses in biology and chemistry in preparation for medicine neglect physics entirely, or think that the elementary work done for admission to college is sufficient. A thorough college course, with laboratory work consisting of accurate measurements, is necessary for certain branches of medical practise and for the fundamental study, physiology. Physics is related to physiology in many ways. ”

“ The mental constitution of the physician is essentially that of the naturalist; and the tastes and capacities of the naturalist reveal themselves, and, indeed, demand satisfaction long before twenty-one years of age, which is a good age for entering a medical school. ”

“ The Value of Scientific Preparation.—There are some physicians who believe that the preparation which has here been recommended produces scientists and not practitioners. It is clear, however, that a single course in physiology, even a very thorough one, does not make a physiologist. ”

“ Electrical stimulation is used in treating certain diseases, and the physiological laboratory contains many pieces of electrical apparatus. The importance of the X-ray in medicine is sufficiently well known. In order to understand vision and the application of lenses to the eye, the principles of reflection and refraction must be understood. The nature of sound and its transmission through various media is similarly related to the physiology of hearing. ”

“ Those who intend to study medicine are advised by the Medical Faculty to pay special attention to the study of Natural History, Chemistry, Physics, and the French and German languages, while in College. ”

“ Practise in the dissection of vertebrates and a general knowledge of their bones, muscles, nerves, vessels and organs are essential for good work in human anatomy.
Similarly in microscopic anatomy no student can afford to try to learn how to handle a microscope while his companions, by its use, are making rapid progress in the study of human tissues. ”

“ James Jackson long ago described as "a mind liberalized by scientific studies," If he loses a certain breadth of culture because of specialization, still, as Cardinal Newman has said, "the advantage of the community is nearly in inverse ratio with his own." ”

“ An understanding of electricity is necessary for explaining the electrical changes produced in living tissues, and in order to stimulate tissues experimentally so that their activities may be studied. ”

“ Between two and three years will be required for the recommended studies, but some time will be free for philosophy, history and political economy. These subjects are named since they are the ones not already discussed which were formerly required for the bachelor's degree, and which are now considered by some to be an essential part of a good education. ”

“ Many medical schools require for entrance, work in general chemistry and qualitative analysis, and a few call for organic chemistry. These are essential. A half course in quantitative analysis and a half course in physical chemistry are desirable. ”

“ The value of zoological courses as a preparation for anatomy and histology is shown in the following table, based upon the marks of the class which entered the Harvard Medical School in 1907. The table shows the number of men obtaining the grades A to E, A being the highest (90-100 per cent.) ”