Opera minora : a collection of essays, articles, lectures and addresses from 1866 to 1882 inclusive / by Edward C. Seguin.
- Edward Constant Seguin
- Date:
- 1884
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Opera minora : a collection of essays, articles, lectures and addresses from 1866 to 1882 inclusive / by Edward C. Seguin. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
693/708 page 679
![specialist's attention is taken up with the very striking symptom which has caused the patient to consult him ; such as convul- sions, headache, eczema, failing sight, aphonia, etc. Some phy- sicians, I fear, at once prescribe a favorite remedy or application in obedience to a half-avowed belief in specific medication. Others give more time to the case, analyze it somewhat, and prescribe intelligently. But how many have the courage to thoroughly investigate the problem, and then base their special practice in the case in hand upon the solid foundation of gener- al medical knowledge ? To do this consumes time, may call for delicate manipulations, and the acquired data must be submit- ted to a peculiar compound of inductive and deductive reason- ing, in order to form a clear conception or hypothesis of the symptoms presented by the patient, as explained by general phj^siological, j)athological and œtiological laws. Without such an inquiry, how can we hope to construct a rational treatment ? Allow me to repeat that symptom worship and specific pre- scribing must flourish in due pro]3ortion to the neglect of gener- al pathology by specialists. This idea is the substance of one of the chief arguments against the usefulness of specialties. It is claimed that the specialist is necessarily one-sided ; that he carries on his researches and his j^ractice in a mole-like way, /. e., working in a furrow and ignoring its relations to the gener- al system of medicine. I think that such a charge is unjust when applied in a general way ; and I believe that,.as years go on, fewer and fewer specialists will render themselves open to this serious accusation. Having discussed the origin, utility, and dangers of special- ties in medicine, there remain some practical deductions or advice to be addressed to you personally. You will recollect that at the opening of my address I said that one of the important questions which agitate the minds of students and young graduates in medicine is, whether to become specialists or not. Now, this question, like quo or two others equally personal which Avill occupy your thoughts, I earnestly beg you not to be in any haste to decide. Pray do not, as the popular phrase is, take up a specialty, for it seems to me that few things can be more unfortunate than that a young man, whether student or graduate, should label himself a specialist in his own mind or in the world's eye.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21077435_0693.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
