On the functions of a medical society / by James W. Allan.

  • Allan, James Watson, 1846-1925.
Date:
[1897]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the functions of a medical society / by James W. Allan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

    7/8 (page 7)
    Gentlemen, our profession is one thcat brings us into close contact with all the grades and phases of human hfe, and the best doctor, cceteris pvrihus, is the man who knows most about humanity. . n ^, , , • We are interested—vitally interested—m all that pertains to the great problems of human life, and if we wish to do the greatest possible good by advice, prevention, and cure, we shall endeavour to arm ourselves by learning all we can regarding the ways of our fellow-creatures. Especially does this hold good regarding the occupations of our patients. It is really part of our duty to make ourselves familiar with the nature of the labours of those who consult us with regard to their health. To be ignorant on this subject lessens our power to grasp the etiology of many cases, and deprives us of the means to advise our patients for the best. Every day we are asked by patients if they are able to resume work, and sometimes the question is whether they will ever be able for their trade again, or will require to adopt some other occupation ? The importance of knowing something about the trade in question is here self-evident. And there is another aspect of this matter. It is of consequence that the doctor and the patient should be in sympathy. When a man feels that his medical adviser understands something of his daily life, that he knows the nature of the difficulties and hardships he has to contend with, he is more likely to regard that adviser as a friend, and so confide in him more fully than he would otherwise be likely to do. If you will excuse a personal reference, I may tell you that I have had the privilege of visiting an iron-work, a steel-work, a pottery, a distillery, a brewery, a sugar-house, a dye-work, a tannery, a spinning-shed, a chemical-work, a galvanising work, and a gas-work. I have also been down a coal pit, and more than once at sea. These visits to public works com- menced in my schooldays. And you may ask—What good did all this do you ? My reply is—Much good. I learned, among the side-lessons, that a wonderful skill is required in some of the trades, and that high intelligence is not confined to the professional and learned classes. And I saw the conditions under which the workers discharge their duties, and the nature of their labours, and so, when those people come before me as patients, I at least know something about their life-work, and am enabled to understand, in a degree, the explanations which they give in reply to questions. I should advise the arranging of a series of visits to the various industries for which our city is famous, and I am sure that the visits would prove to be interesting, instructive, and