Report of the Statistical Committee of the General Medical Council, containing a summary of statistics regarding medical students registered as such in the year 1871 ...

Date:
1885
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Statistical Committee of the General Medical Council, containing a summary of statistics regarding medical students registered as such in the year 1871 ... Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    VI. COMPAIUSON OV THE NUMBERS OF REGISTERED STUDENTS QUALIFYINQ WITH THE NuMBERS OF PRACTITIONERS REGISTERING IN THE Medical Begister in the same years. 1. Another point of some interest is, that by adding up diagonally the numbers in the Table for the United Kingdom (Table VII, p. 29), we ought to arrive at the approximate number *|°/Jf„Jrf™°- qualifying in a given year, especially when that year is at the ^^J'^^.^^'^^^ end of the decennium. Thus, to take 1880, the sum of 3 + 22 + 25 f^J^^^'^^'^ + 99 + 339 + 24-2 + ] 15 + 61+32 + 10 (=948), should (by thesofar as ' addition, say, of 17 + 7 + 4 + 4 = 32), nearly approach the number students are '• J I I ,,,, concerned. qualifying in that year. But 948 + 32 (=980) is 143 less than the number registered in the same year, viz., 1123 (see Table XVII, p. 38). Again, to take 1881, the sum of 14 + 26 + 70 + 388 + 229 + 111 + 62 + 30 + 15+17=962; and this (by the addition of, say, 3 + 7 + 4 + 4=18), should nearly approach the number qualify- ing in 1881; but the number registered in thatyear was 1053. Take again 1882, the sum of 24 + 70 + 353 + 276 + 146 +65 + 36 + 13 + 17 + 7(=1007),should(bytheaddition,say, of 14 + 3 + 4 + 4=25) nearly approach the number qualiPying in that year; but the number registered in 1882 was 1171. Consequently we see that the number of persons registering in the Medical liegisier was, on the average of these years, at least 10 per cent, greater than the number of registered students qualifying in the same year. This is a noteworthy fact—the reverse of what might a priori have been expected; and the cause of this unexpected result most probably is that, throughout the Decennium from 1871 probable to 1880, it must have been possible to obtain a Qualification, and this^iM^uit, appear in the Medical Register, without having been previously registered in the Medical Students' Register. It has been shown that many registered students have managed to qualify in far less time than that recommended by the Medical Council ; thus, seeing that the registration of Qualifications of long standing— . though by no means infrequent during the three years instanced— does not account for the excess indicated, it seems highly probable that numerous unregistered students must have been also able to qualify. JOHN MARSH A.LL, Chairman. November 16, 1885.