Medical ethics : a discourse delivered in the theatre of the Meath Hospital, November 1, 1869 / by William Stokes.

  • Stokes, William, 1804-1878.
Date:
1869
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Medical ethics : a discourse delivered in the theatre of the Meath Hospital, November 1, 1869 / by William Stokes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    tion. But I wish to show you that, at least as far as Medicine is concerned, they are subsidiary to a higher study. The end of all is Professional fitness, and in regard to this there is an influence greatly overlooked by our makers of systems of education. It is that of the prac- tice of Medicine itself, under necessity. There are men who in their student days have been idle, neglectful of opportunity, deaf to advice, yet who manage somehow to get through a so-called test examination, and who, with the growth of a more sober judgment, and under the silent influence of experience, become good and useful Physicians and Surgeons. To such men the power comes late, but it often does come. They learn every year things that are in no curricula, subjects more important than any they have been examined in—charity, self-abnegation, cou- rage, caution, reflection, patience, modesty—all the while their minds tinctured with a poignant regret for the time they have wasted, when they remembered not their Creator in the days of their youth. Their man- ners may be rugged, their extra professional learning scanty, but they may become, notwithstanding their early habits, if not accomplished, at least conscien- tious, and often successful practitioners. And in the fight with disease and death they are given that in- stinctive perception and skill which is the highest quali- fication of the Physician or the Surgeon, and is to be acquired only by long intimacy with the ways of the sick, and that under necessity. God forbid that I should counsel you to follow their example in your early days ; but I mention this as a matter which should be more