A WORD OP ADVICE TO YOUNG INDIAN MEDICAL GRADUATES. By SOORJEE COOMAR
SURBADHICARRY, G.M.C.C.
We all know that, notwithstanding the progress that has been made in the science of medicine of late years, it is yet in its infancy, and many centuries must elapse before it can be Sturaised to the dignity of an exact science. dents of medicine must therefore be observant of every fact that comes before them and religiously record it with a view of its being examined carefully not only by themselves,but by other labourIt is by faithful observation ers in the same field. of facts and their proper generalization that Ave can ever hope to contribute our quota towards the progress of the noble science whose votaries we have deliberately declared ourselves to be. How difficult it is to follow this path honestly and sincerely, and to perform our self-imposed duties with zeal and singleness of purpose is only known to those who are engaged in the daily discharge of them as physicians, surgeons and accoucheurs, on whose tact and judgment depend the life and happiness of their fellowbeings. We need scarcely add that most of the followers of this noble profession devote their lives and energies for the good of their patients and in raising the profession to its highest pitch of excellence; but,unfortunately, there are some who do not follow it in the same catholic spirit. It, therefore, behoves the profession at. large, and the practitioners of the healing art in particular, to devote their entire attention to the well-being of the patients under their charge, and we feel certain that they cannot but arrive, in time, at a proper conclusion as to the true nature of the maladies from which they are suffering, the probable progress and termination of the same and the remedial measures necessary to bring them to a successful issue. When that is done, the physician, the surgeon, accoucheur gains his object. or the He has honestly and sincerely performed his duty towards his patient, and he has perhaps arrived at a fact around which other facts must gather, and in time he may be able to give out to the world his mature views on any particular subject which he has long had under his observation. It is by such exchange of thought with our professional brethren in all parts of the world that we can ever hope to benefit ourselves and humanity in general, and ultimately the science of medicine itself.
Sept., 1886.]
ADVICE TO INDIAN GRADUATES.
been led to these remarks by the that every now and then come to complaints our knowledge by the suffering public that their medical attendants do not pay that attention to their cases in the earlier stages of tlieir disease which they ought, and, as a consequence, they suffer most grievously, nay come to an untimely end, simply by their being negIt has been our lected in the first instance. painful experience to come across such cases, and we cannot but sympathise with the public, and consider it the bouuden duty of every practitioner o? the healing art to examine his patient carefully in the earliest stage of the disease from which he is suffering, and not to neglect it when it is yet in its germinal state. How many cases of pneumonia, pleurisy, phthisis pulmonalis, albuminuria and diabetes might have been averted if the attending physicians had directed their attention to them in their incipient stages, and how many valuable lives would have been spared had such a procedure been adopted in the first instance. " A stitch in time saves nine," is the homely proverb, and in nothing is it more applicable To nip a .disease than in the art of healing. in its bud should be the highest object of the practitioner of medicine, but it is impossible for him to do so unless he pays that attention to it, which alone can enable him to recognise the disease in its earliest and most rudimentary stage. The training which the students of medicine receive at the various schools of medicine and in the hospitals attached to them is a very good one, but still it is not sufficient to make them thoroughly acquainted with the symptoms of the disease in its earliest stage. Most of the cases that come to hospital for the treatment are generally advanced, and symptoms by which they are recognised in those institutions are not exactly those which showed It is therefore themselves in the beginning. absolutely necessary for practitioners to learn at the bedside of private patients the symptoms of the disease from which their patients suffer at their very inception, and to adopt such remedial measures which their knowledge of medicine enables them to successfully combat with the disease and restore health ; and the complaints we hear of from time to time must necessarily We iuive
?
?
?
disappear.
There is another complaint which is very often made by the discerning public, and that is that the practitioners of medicine are very much imbued with prejudices, and they do not allow the use of remedies which are not to be found in
recognized pharmacopoeias, notwithstandthat they have been found to be efficacious where orthodox remedies have been found to be useless. We certainly know of many cases in which the regular orthodox remedies have proved ineffectual, and in which simples of the
their
ing
261
most ordinary kind, whose virtues are not to be found in any of the recognised pharmacopoeias, have effected marvellous cures, and is it right that the practitioners of medicine should reject them as useless, or worse than useless? Does it not stand to reason that they should lay aside their prejudices and carefully watch the effect of those remedies, that they should make proper and impartial enquiries as to the real qualities of those drugs, and, if found beneficial in the alleviation of human suffering, adopt them in their own practice? The science of medicine is a noble science, and its followers should be above all prejudice. They should be very catholic indeed ! They should not allow their prejudices or their self-interest to be in the way of its progress. Every discovery, which has for its object the alleviation of human suffering, should be hailed by them with delight and adopted by them after due enquiries have been made as to its genuine efficacy. We would on no account advise young practitioners of medicine to adopt untried drugs in the treatment of their patients, but we would ask them to carefully watch the effect of such remedies when used by experienced members of the profession, and not to discard them in the way it is generally done. While in this part of our subject, we cannot avoid mentioning that it is incumbent on the medical graduates of the several Indian universities to devote their attention to the elucidation of facts from the several systems of medicine iu vogue in this country and to arrive at a proper appreciation of their worth from a scientific point of view. If, as we believe, they contain medicines of a superior order in the treatment of diseases and in the alleviation of human suffering, is it not proper for them to analyse them chemically and microscopically and show their proper value before the scientific world ? We firmly believe that it is by such means that our native brethren can hope to be The European most useful to their community. system of medicine is certainly a very advanced one so far as it has gone, but there are various branches of medicine which the European system of medicine has not yet touched, and which the old Baids and Hakeems of India practised most successfully in ancient days, and the record of which is to be found in the Ayurveda, Shusroota, and other books of medicine extant, and we again to devote their urge on our native graduates earnest attention to it, and we feel sure their labours will be crowned with success. Thousands of our countrymen, who do not avail themselves of the European system of medicine either from sheer prejudice or from a belief that it is not so excellent as the old Baido or Hakeemi system, will have their minds disabused of such preju. dices aud betake themselves to the use of those medicines which will heal their diseases and
restore
their health when
they know that those
THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
262
they place themselves are fully with different systems of medicine, ancient and modern. The cure of our patients and the alleviation of human suffering being our highest object, it behoves us all to devote our entire attention to them, to learn from them the causes of their sufferings, to examiue them carefully and to do all in our power to nip the disease in its earliest stage. What to us may seem insignificant may be to our patients the source of much suffering. No disease, however trivial in the first instance, should ever be neglected, and all that medicine in its extended sense can do should be done for them. It is by attending to the smallest complaints of our patients and doing our best to relieve them that we can hope to gain their confidence, and enlist their sympathy on behalf of any project which has for its object the good of mankind. under whom conversant
23rd
August,
1886.
[Sept.,
1886.
SURBADHICARRY, G.M.C.C.
We all know that, notwithstanding the progress that has been made in the science of medicine of late years, it is yet in its infancy, and many centuries must elapse before it can be Sturaised to the dignity of an exact science. dents of medicine must therefore be observant of every fact that comes before them and religiously record it with a view of its being examined carefully not only by themselves,but by other labourIt is by faithful observation ers in the same field. of facts and their proper generalization that Ave can ever hope to contribute our quota towards the progress of the noble science whose votaries we have deliberately declared ourselves to be. How difficult it is to follow this path honestly and sincerely, and to perform our self-imposed duties with zeal and singleness of purpose is only known to those who are engaged in the daily discharge of them as physicians, surgeons and accoucheurs, on whose tact and judgment depend the life and happiness of their fellowbeings. We need scarcely add that most of the followers of this noble profession devote their lives and energies for the good of their patients and in raising the profession to its highest pitch of excellence; but,unfortunately, there are some who do not follow it in the same catholic spirit. It, therefore, behoves the profession at. large, and the practitioners of the healing art in particular, to devote their entire attention to the well-being of the patients under their charge, and we feel certain that they cannot but arrive, in time, at a proper conclusion as to the true nature of the maladies from which they are suffering, the probable progress and termination of the same and the remedial measures necessary to bring them to a successful issue. When that is done, the physician, the surgeon, accoucheur gains his object. or the He has honestly and sincerely performed his duty towards his patient, and he has perhaps arrived at a fact around which other facts must gather, and in time he may be able to give out to the world his mature views on any particular subject which he has long had under his observation. It is by such exchange of thought with our professional brethren in all parts of the world that we can ever hope to benefit ourselves and humanity in general, and ultimately the science of medicine itself.
Sept., 1886.]
ADVICE TO INDIAN GRADUATES.
been led to these remarks by the that every now and then come to complaints our knowledge by the suffering public that their medical attendants do not pay that attention to their cases in the earlier stages of tlieir disease which they ought, and, as a consequence, they suffer most grievously, nay come to an untimely end, simply by their being negIt has been our lected in the first instance. painful experience to come across such cases, and we cannot but sympathise with the public, and consider it the bouuden duty of every practitioner o? the healing art to examine his patient carefully in the earliest stage of the disease from which he is suffering, and not to neglect it when it is yet in its germinal state. How many cases of pneumonia, pleurisy, phthisis pulmonalis, albuminuria and diabetes might have been averted if the attending physicians had directed their attention to them in their incipient stages, and how many valuable lives would have been spared had such a procedure been adopted in the first instance. " A stitch in time saves nine," is the homely proverb, and in nothing is it more applicable To nip a .disease than in the art of healing. in its bud should be the highest object of the practitioner of medicine, but it is impossible for him to do so unless he pays that attention to it, which alone can enable him to recognise the disease in its earliest and most rudimentary stage. The training which the students of medicine receive at the various schools of medicine and in the hospitals attached to them is a very good one, but still it is not sufficient to make them thoroughly acquainted with the symptoms of the disease in its earliest stage. Most of the cases that come to hospital for the treatment are generally advanced, and symptoms by which they are recognised in those institutions are not exactly those which showed It is therefore themselves in the beginning. absolutely necessary for practitioners to learn at the bedside of private patients the symptoms of the disease from which their patients suffer at their very inception, and to adopt such remedial measures which their knowledge of medicine enables them to successfully combat with the disease and restore health ; and the complaints we hear of from time to time must necessarily We iuive
?
?
?
disappear.
There is another complaint which is very often made by the discerning public, and that is that the practitioners of medicine are very much imbued with prejudices, and they do not allow the use of remedies which are not to be found in
recognized pharmacopoeias, notwithstandthat they have been found to be efficacious where orthodox remedies have been found to be useless. We certainly know of many cases in which the regular orthodox remedies have proved ineffectual, and in which simples of the
their
ing
261
most ordinary kind, whose virtues are not to be found in any of the recognised pharmacopoeias, have effected marvellous cures, and is it right that the practitioners of medicine should reject them as useless, or worse than useless? Does it not stand to reason that they should lay aside their prejudices and carefully watch the effect of those remedies, that they should make proper and impartial enquiries as to the real qualities of those drugs, and, if found beneficial in the alleviation of human suffering, adopt them in their own practice? The science of medicine is a noble science, and its followers should be above all prejudice. They should be very catholic indeed ! They should not allow their prejudices or their self-interest to be in the way of its progress. Every discovery, which has for its object the alleviation of human suffering, should be hailed by them with delight and adopted by them after due enquiries have been made as to its genuine efficacy. We would on no account advise young practitioners of medicine to adopt untried drugs in the treatment of their patients, but we would ask them to carefully watch the effect of such remedies when used by experienced members of the profession, and not to discard them in the way it is generally done. While in this part of our subject, we cannot avoid mentioning that it is incumbent on the medical graduates of the several Indian universities to devote their attention to the elucidation of facts from the several systems of medicine iu vogue in this country and to arrive at a proper appreciation of their worth from a scientific point of view. If, as we believe, they contain medicines of a superior order in the treatment of diseases and in the alleviation of human suffering, is it not proper for them to analyse them chemically and microscopically and show their proper value before the scientific world ? We firmly believe that it is by such means that our native brethren can hope to be The European most useful to their community. system of medicine is certainly a very advanced one so far as it has gone, but there are various branches of medicine which the European system of medicine has not yet touched, and which the old Baids and Hakeems of India practised most successfully in ancient days, and the record of which is to be found in the Ayurveda, Shusroota, and other books of medicine extant, and we again to devote their urge on our native graduates earnest attention to it, and we feel sure their labours will be crowned with success. Thousands of our countrymen, who do not avail themselves of the European system of medicine either from sheer prejudice or from a belief that it is not so excellent as the old Baido or Hakeemi system, will have their minds disabused of such preju. dices aud betake themselves to the use of those medicines which will heal their diseases and
restore
their health when
they know that those
THE INDIAN MEDICAL GAZETTE.
262
they place themselves are fully with different systems of medicine, ancient and modern. The cure of our patients and the alleviation of human suffering being our highest object, it behoves us all to devote our entire attention to them, to learn from them the causes of their sufferings, to examiue them carefully and to do all in our power to nip the disease in its earliest stage. What to us may seem insignificant may be to our patients the source of much suffering. No disease, however trivial in the first instance, should ever be neglected, and all that medicine in its extended sense can do should be done for them. It is by attending to the smallest complaints of our patients and doing our best to relieve them that we can hope to gain their confidence, and enlist their sympathy on behalf of any project which has for its object the good of mankind. under whom conversant
23rd
August,
1886.
[Sept.,
1886.
