Practical surgery for the general practitioner / by Nicholas Senn.
- Nicholas Senn
- Date:
- 1901
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Practical surgery for the general practitioner / by Nicholas Senn. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.
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![than to practise is a familiar one, and should be made to apply with the same force to doctors as to preachers. The first and most important duty of the military surgeon is to prevent disease. This can often be done more effectively b\' example than b}- talking or issuing orders. The military surgeon must guard the camp against disease. He is looked upon, and must be regarded by those under his care, as the one above all others who can give them advice in matters pertaining to their health. He is expected to do this by example as well as by teaching. He must become a permanent object-lesson in inculcating the importance of cleanli- ness in person and in dress. His tent should be the cleanest and most orderly in camp. Temperance in eating and drinking can be taught more successfully by action than by words. A military surgeon under the influence of liquor will do more harm in encour- aging the vice of intemperance than can be undone b\' weeks of lecturing. Profanity is prevalent in every camp, and while it is not the duty of the surgeon to supplant the chaplain in suppressing it, it should receive no encouragement by his example. In his conduct toward the men the surgeon should be firm and dignified, }'et kind and sympathetic, especially to those in need of his professional services. An impetuous nature and an irritable temper create a rebellious spirit, which it is difficult to control by the most ener- getic measures. Proper questions should be answered willingly and with sufficient clearness and at adequate length to furnish the desired information, and not gruffl\^ and snappishly, as is occasion- ally done without any reason or provocation. Overwork and a poor digestion are poor excu.ses for treating a subordinate in an undignified, ungentlemanly manner. The military surgeon must be known in camp as a gentleman, not only by the officers, but by every man under his charge, if he expects to be respected and to do justice to his high calling and responsible position. The Military Surgeon in War.—The true qualities of the mili- tary surgeon are cr\'stalli/.cd and best shown during an active campaign. It is in war that his ready resources will come to the surface and will be subjected to the severest tests. It is in battle and during the prevalence of deva.stating di.sea.ses that his moral courage and physical endurance will be most severely tried. It is under such circum.stances that the troops will reap the greatest benefits from the skill, diligence, fortitude, and ready resources of the medical officer. The surgeon who can extem])ori/.e an operating table in the field, who can secure a.sepsis with the use of the camp kettle, .soft soap, and carbolic acid or sublimate, and who can perform the most difficult operations with the sim|)lest and fewest instruments, with little or no a.ssi.stance, is the one who will accomplish the most and who will obtain the best results in the field.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21207513_0031.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
