The emoluments of the medical profession and the means of attaining them : an introductory address delivered at Sydenham College, Birmingham, October 1st, 1856, on occasion of the opening of the winter session / by George Elkington.

  • Elkington, George.
Date:
1856
    THE EMOLUMENTS OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, AND THE MEANS OF ATTAINING THEM. AN ADDRESS, DELIVERED AT gdenham College, ittmmgltam t OCTOBER 1st, 1856, ON OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF THE WINTER SESSION, BY GEORGE ELKINGTON, SURGEON TO THE GENERAL INSTITUTION FOR THE BLIND, LECTURER ON ANATOMY TO SYDENHAM COLLEGE, FORMERLY SENIOR SURGEON TO THE GENERAL DISPENSARY, AND AUTHOR OF A “PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION” OF THE HUMAN SKELETON. PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OE THE COUNCIL, BIRMINGHAM : PRINTED AT M. BILLING’S STEAM-PRESS OFFICES, LIVERY STREET.
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    ADDRESS. Mu. Principal and Gentlemen, After the able discourses which have been delivered in this Iheatre by my esteemed Colleagues, who have preceded me in the honourable position which through their kindness I now occupy, it is with great diffidence, and much distrust, that I stand before you this day to deliver the introductory address at the commencement of another Winter Session. I could have wished that they had selected some other individual to have addressed you on this occasion, as I am confident that any one of my Colleagues would have discharged the duties better than myself, and 1 am painfully sensitive lest the interest of this College, which now holds a high and I believe well-merited position among the Medical Schools of the Country, should sustain any injury from inefficiency on my part. Whilst I tremble therefore under a sense of the responsibility which I have accepted, I duly appreciate the kindness of my Colleagues in selecting me as their representative on this occasion, and feel that an honour has been conferred upon me, far beyond what the nature of my connection with the College entitled me to have anticipated. I esteem it a privilege to be associated in any humble manner with the Pounders of this Institution, and shall ever be happy to promote its future prosperity by any means in my power, believing as I do that it originated in, and is carried on with a sincere desire and earnest endeavour, to improve the education and advance the position of the future members of the Medical Profession. In the choice of a suitable subject for discussion at these annual reunions, the mind seems naturally to turn to some topic of general pro¬ fessional interest, more particularly as bearing upon the future prospects of those just entering our ranks, rather than to the consideration of any special branch of study. My Colleagues who have preceded me have
    discoursed on the “ Requirements for Medical Practice,” on the “ Character and Claims” of the Medical Profession, on its “ Present State as com¬ pared with that previous to the passing of the Apothecaries Act,” and on its “ Present Position and mode of Cultivation”—and I now solicit your forbearance and sympathy while I endeavour briefly to offer a few remarks on the Emoluments of the Medical Profession, and the means of attaining them. Before entering upon the business of life, or commencing the pre¬ liminary studies necessary for the practice of any art or profession, or for engaging in any branch of commerce or manufacture, it becomes the duty of the youthful aspirant, no less than of those who have the guard¬ ianship and direction of his future pursuits, well to consider the nature and desirability of the profession or trade he may have selected—to examine his fitness and capabilities, his circumstances and inclinations, before deciding on the special course of his future occupations; and in order to arrive at a favourable decision, the several points to which I have alluded should form the elements of calculation on which their opinion is based. In estimating his fitness and capabilities, his physical powers should be examined and his mental acquirements tested; it should be ascertained if his health and constitutional vigour are equal to the duties to be im¬ posed, and if his education has been such as to fit him to enter upon the special studies connected with the profession or business he is about to follow, as his future studies will require all his time and talent, and if his mind has not been well trained by his preliminary education, he will enter upon his duties under many disadvantages, and will often find them difficult and irksome. His circumstances too should not be overlooked, for it is a questionable procedure to introduce a youth into the Medical Profession, who has no private resources, and whose friends are unable to maintain him respectably until he can provide for himself, unless he manifests great talent, peculiar fitness, and an urgent desire to embrace it circumstances which of themselves will enable him to surmount many difficulties. Inclination, therefore, should not be disregarded, as it is doubtful if he ever succeed so well in any pursuit which is ungenial to his feelings and mental constitution. It is true that some gifted individu¬ als will break through the trammels which have been imposed upon them, and under the pressure of adverse circumstances, will steer their course into the path which nature had intended for them, and attain to eminence ami wealth; but it is equally true of many, that if the natural course of
    their inclination and mental bias be opposed or misdirected, they will for ever be crippled in their progress. As I am now addressing some who have recently decided upon entering the Medical Profession, and are about to enter upon the special courses of study necessary to fit them for the efficient discharge of its arduous duties, let me endeavour to ascertain if they have made a wise and prudent choice, by considering in what the Emoluments or Advantages of the Medical Profession consist, and if they bear a comparison with those of other professions, of commerce or manufacture. Man is immortal, a moral and responsible being, a compound, possessing a body, capable of sustaining many important relations and of discharging high moral duties, fitted also for much enjoyment, but which dies and is merely the tene¬ ment of the eternal principle within, of the “ Soul, which, immortal as its Sire, shall never die” ; and in order therefore rightly to estimate the value of any earthly occupation in which he may engage, it is necessary to con¬ sider it not merely in reference to the temporal advantages it may yield, but also as to its bearing upon his future happiness and eternal welfare. We hear much of the difficulties, the trials, and discouragements of medicine and the healing art, of the easier path of other professions, and the more lucrative results to those who embark in commerce, or are engaged in conducting the large manufacturing establishments which are the pride of our land; but I hope I shall be able to prove to you that the science of medicine is worthy of your choice, not only on account of the honourable position it has ever held among the learned professions, and the affectionate regard manifested towards its faithful promoters, but also from the Advantages or Emoluments connected both with its study and practice. In speaking of the emoluments of the Medical Profession, I shall take rather a wide range, and refer not merely to its pecuniary rewards, but to other advantages which it offers, not less worthy of consideration. Eirst, then, there are many advantages connected with the study of medicine and the collateral sciences. Every school-boy knows something of the pleasure experienced in having accomplished a new task or solved a difficult problem, but he is unable to appreciate the higher gratification, the pure and holy joy, which will be gradually unfolded to the student of Anatomy, Chemistry, or Botany, as he proceeds in his interesting investi¬ gations. In examining the structure of the human body, he is beset at