Education; Priestley, Joseph, 1733-1804; Science -- Study and teaching
The question is how this can be done. My own belief is that if the
Medical Council, instead of insisting upon that examination in general
education which I am sorry to say I believe to be entirely futile, were
to insist upon a knowledge of elementary physics, and chemistry, and
biology, they would be taking one of the greatest steps which at
present can be made for the improvement of medical education. And the
improvement would be this. The great majority of the young men who are
going into the profession have practically completed their general
education--or they might very well have done so--by the age of sixteen
or seventeen. If the interval between this age and that at which they
commence their purely medical studies were employed in obtaining a
practical acquaintance with elementary physics, chemistry, and biology,
in my judgment it would be as good as two years added to the course of
medical study. And for two reasons: in the first place, because the
subject-matter of that which they would learn is germane to their
future studies, and is so much gained; in the second place, because you
might clear out of the course of their professional study a great deal
which at present occupies time and attention; and last, but not
least--probably most--they would then come to their medical studies
prepared for that learning from Nature which is what they have to do in
the course of becoming skilful medical men, and for which at present
they are not in the slightest degree prepared by their previous
education.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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