An inaugural address delivered before the Medical Society of the State of New York : at the Capitol in the city of Albany, on the 8th day of February, 1826 / by James R. Manley.

  • Manley, James R., 1781-1851.
Date:
1826
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An inaugural address delivered before the Medical Society of the State of New York : at the Capitol in the city of Albany, on the 8th day of February, 1826 / by James R. Manley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    wholesome provisions, but accords to every person the right to practice, who possesses a Diploma, no matter from whence derived, provided it be filed on record in any of the counties of this State. It would scarcely be expected, that the rivalships existing among the medical schools, could be enumerated among the causes calculated to impair the medical character ; but a lit- tle consideration will satisfy the most prejudiced, that they not only are, but that, so long as the emoluments of teaching depend on the number of pupils, they must continue to be of injurious tendency ; unless the restraints of law shall be made to countervail their influence. If medical schools were all furnished with commanding talent in the teachers—if they all offered complete courses of instruction—possessed all those facilities for their illustration which are essential to a full edu- cation—required such terms of pupilage as are necessary to its acquisition—and if their rivalries were disinterested, ex- cept so far as the dignity and usefulness of the profession were concerned, they would be so many sources of gratula- tion rather than of serious apprehension. But experience has spoken a different language, and as it cannot be misunder- stood, we are left without apology if we disregard her lessons. The strife among some of our schools appears to have been, not which should educate the best qualified physicians, but which should graduate the greatest number ! And to so great extent has this ignoble emulation operated, that a college has been known to admit to degrees, at one commencement, the one-half of its whole amount of pupils ; whereas in all well conducted schools the proportion is never permitted to ex- ceed one fifth or one sixth part of those matriculated. If it be asked, whether this abuse be not inseparable from the mul- tiplication of medical schools ? I answer no ; with the num- ber of schools it has no necessary connexion : it is only when they are empowered to prant licenses,, and when they exer- cise the power, under a strong temptation to relax discipline, and degrade the measure of requisition, for interest's sake, that the public have serious cause to be alarmed. The evil, however, is within the reach of remedy, and may be correct-