“If any one, whether he be a regular or licensed medical man or not, professes to deal with the life or health of others, he is bound to have competent skill to perform the task that he holds himself out to perform, and he is bound to treat his patient with care, attention and assiduity;” and if the patient dies for want of either, the practitioner is guilty of manslaughter. “Every person who enters into a learned profession undertakes to bring to the exercise of it a reasonable degree of care and skill” [204]. And if a medical man, though lawfully qualified to act as such, cause |85| the death of a person by the grossly unskilful or grossly incautious use of a dangerous instrument, he is guilty of manslaughter. No one is justified in making use of an instrument, in itself a dangerous one, unless he does so with a proper degree of skill and caution [205]. There must be competent knowledge and care in dealing with a dangerous drug; if a man is ignorant of the nature of the drug he uses, or is guilty of gross want of care in its use, it would be criminal culpability [206]. In Iowa, it was held that one assuming to act as a physician, who treats a patient in good faith and to the best of his ability, is not criminally responsible for the death of his patient, caused by the medicine he administers [207]. “To substantiate the charge of manslaughter, the prisoner must have been guilty of criminal misconduct, arising either from the grossest ignorance, or the most criminal inattention; one or other of these is necessary to make him guilty of that criminal negligence and misconduct which is essential to make out a case of manslaughter.” Thus Lord Ellenborough laid down the law in the case of a man midwife who was on his trial for murder by malpractice [208]. Long since in the _Mirror_ [209] it was said, “If physicians or chirurgeons take upon them a cure, and have no knowledge or skill therein, or if they have knowledge, if nevertheless they neglect the cure, or minister that which is cold for hot, or take little care thereof, or neglect due diligence therein, and especially in burning and cutting off members, which they are forbidden to do, but at the peril of their patient; if their patients die or lose their members, in such cases they are manslayers or mayhemdors.” Park, J., |86| charged the jury very similarly in one of St. John Long’s celebrated cases. “If,” said his Lordship, “you think there was gross ignorance or scandalous inattention in the conduct of the prisoner, then you will find him guilty; if you do not think so, then your verdict will be otherwise” [210]. Wharton considers that the position assumed by Lord Ellenborough depends upon the honesty and _bona fides_ of the practitioner; and that if he is pursuing a plan of bold imposture the law would be otherwise [211].