Apeil 28, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



443 



single instructor the student could carry his 

 entire intellectual jwssessions ; to each of the 

 seven, one seventh; to each of the seventy, he 

 can carry but one seventieth. But what 

 instructor realizes this and is willing to accept 

 his proportion? Each demands more than the 

 student can give, and the student under this 

 tremendous pressure loosens his hold on the 

 get-something idea, adopts the get-by methods, 

 and revises his ethical principles accordingly. 



Probably no field of science is undergoing a 

 more active fermentation than medical science, 

 with the splitting off of new segments ; the dis- 

 carding of certain subjects; and the addition 

 of new subjects. Just as physiology and path- 

 ology split off from anatomy, so biochemistry 

 is outgrowing physiology; bacteriology is 

 asserting its independence of pathology; pedi- 

 ati'ics and neurology, otolaryngology and oph- 

 thalmology are attaining independence from 

 general medicine and surgery. Owing to the 

 increase in entrance requirements, certain sub- 

 jects like chemistry, embryology, histology and 

 comparative anatomy are being shifted from 

 the medical course to the premedical course, 

 while other subjects like osteology, bone mod- 

 eling, etc., have fallen by the wayside. Again, 

 there is going on a continual importation of 

 subjects from the outlying fields of investiga- 

 tion. Immunology, Eoentgenology and para- 

 sitology have been brought into the curriculum 

 from these outlying fields. The schools that are 

 most actively engaged in the exploration and 

 investigation of borderland subjects find great- 

 est difficulty in holding to a fixed curriculum. 



The clinical resources of one school may be 

 quite unlike those of another. One is favorably 

 situated for the study of tropical diseases, an- 

 other is able to utilize a great tuberculosis sana- 

 torium, another a great psychopathic institute. 

 The school should be „ able to adjust its curri- 

 culum to these resources. If in South Africa, 

 study sleeping sickness in the clinic, in the 

 class room, and in the laboratory. If in 

 Panama or Louisiana, emphasize, if j^ou wish, 

 malaria; if where cretanism abounds, study it. 

 teach it and think it. While one school may 

 thus emphasize this or that particular line of 

 study, all are studying disease, and the under- 

 lying principles of disease prevention and con- 



trol are not distributed geographically. Upon 

 the proper certification that a student has had 

 four or five years training in a good medical 

 school should rest his qualification to practice. 

 If it be expedient to protect the public by 

 some form of state or national examination 

 such examination should be directed solely 

 toward determining the student's ability to 

 work and think in terms of disease prevention 

 and control. 



The principle of collective teaching in all 

 education is based upon the assumption that 

 all human beings possess certain resemblances 

 both physical and mental; otherwise we could 

 not speak of them as a group. Each person 

 possesses more or less of every ordinary 

 human power. Our senses of feeling, tasting, 

 smelling, hearing and seeing are similar; their 

 actions and interactions upon an inherited 

 substratum are reflected in thinking, and modes 

 of thought run along faii-ly parallel lines. Col- 

 lectivism stimulates a spirit of emulation; of 

 comparative evaluation of mental assets both 

 quantitative and qualitative. It arouses a 

 sense of power which enables a member of a 

 group to overcome obstacles which would de- 

 feat him if he were alone. This is forcibly 

 illustrated by the heroic deeds of the soldier 

 when inspired by the common purpose of the 

 group. The status of the medical profession 

 demands many elements of collectivism. There 

 must be developed in the medical students a 

 fraternal sympathy; a spirit of mutual consid- 

 eration, and a basis for disciplined, or expert, 

 cooperation. There is a fairly common sub- 

 stratum in each subject, in each gi-eat division, 

 and in the curriculum as a whole, which can 

 be presented collectively, and whether or not 

 this be the method of the future, it must be 

 the method of the present because it is an 

 economic necessity. These are some of the 

 considerations which justify class lectures, 

 class demonstrations, class experiments and 

 class examinations. It must not be inferred, 

 however, that it likewise justifies the existence 

 of the present division of students into fresh- 

 man, sophomore, junior and senior classes. 

 This grouping is a menace to education and 

 should disappear as soon as possible, especially 

 in the medical school. 



