Medical Education

Abstract

IT is stated in NATURE (November 18, p. 683) that "“The professional course has grown so full in the training of a medical student that it has become increasingly difficult to cover the ground and secure qualification in a reasonable time.” It seems that chemistry and physics are to be placed outside the professional curriculum, but biology is to be retained. A knowledge of chemistry and physics is necessary to the doctor; and much of the recent advance in both medicine and surgery is due to discovery in these sciences. But can any one tell us of what utility, practical or intellectual, is the biology which medical students learn—facts about the classification of plants, the vascular system of the sea-urchin, the digestive system of the leech, the bones in the cod's head, and so on? No one is a better physician or surgeon for such knowledge; and, therefore, since it has no bearing on later study and practice, it is forgotten as soon as the prescribed examinations are passed.