CHAPTER III.

OF THE DUTIES OF THE PROFESSION TO THE PUBLIC, AND OF THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE PUBLIC TO THE PROFESSION.

ART. I.—Duties of the profession to the public.

§ 1. As good citizens, it is the duty of physicians to be ever vigilant for the welfare of the community, and to bear their part in sustaining its institutions and burdens: they should also be ever ready to give counsel to the public in relation to matters especially appertaining to their profession, as on subjects of medical police, public hygiène, and legal medicine. It is their province to enlighten the public in regard to quarantine regulations,—the location, arrangement, and dietaries of hospitals, asylums, schools, prisons, and similar institutions,—in relation to the medical police of towns, as drainage, ventilation, &c.,—and in regard to measures for the prevention of epidemic and contagious diseases; and when pestilence prevails, it is their duty to face the danger, and to continue their labors for the alleviation of the suffering, even at the jeopardy of their own lives.

§ 2. Medical men should also be always ready, when called on by the legally constituted authorities, to enlighten coroners’ inquests and courts of justice, on subjects strictly medical,—such as involve questions relating to sanity, legitimacy, murder by poisons or other violent means, and in regard to the various other subjects embraced in the science of Medical Jurisprudence. But in these cases, and especially where they are required to make a post-mortem examination, it is just, in consequence of the time, labor and skill required, and the responsibility and risk they incur, that the public should award them a proper honorarium.

§ 3. There is no profession, by the members of which, eleemosynary services are more liberally dispensed, than the medical, but justice requires that some limits should be placed to the performance of such good offices. Poverty, professional brotherhood, and certain public duties referred to in section 1 of this chapter, should always be recognized as presenting valid claims for gratuitous services; but neither institutions endowed by the public or by rich individuals, societies for mutual benefit, for the insurance of lives or for analogous purposes, nor any profession or occupation, can be admitted to possess such privilege. Nor can it be justly expected of physicians to furnish certificates of inability to serve on juries, to perform militia duty, or to testify to the state of health of persons wishing to insure their lives, obtain pensions, or the like, without a pecuniary acknowledgment. But to individuals in indigent circumstances, such professional services should always be cheerfully and freely accorded.

§ 4. It is the duty of physicians, who are frequent witnesses of the enormities committed by quackery, and the injury to health and even destruction of life caused by the use of quack medicines, to enlighten the public on these subjects, to expose the injuries sustained by the unwary from the devices and pretensions of artful empirics and impostors. Physicians ought to use all the influence which they may possess, as professors in Colleges of Pharmacy, and by exercising their option in regard to the shops to which their prescriptions shall be sent, to discourage druggists and apothecaries from vending quack or secret medicines, or from being in any way engaged in their manufacture and sale.

ART. II.—Obligations of the public to physicians.

§ 1. The benefits accruing to the public directly and indirectly from the active and unwearied beneficence of the profession, are so numerous and important, that physicians are justly entitled to the utmost consideration and respect from the community. The public ought likewise to entertain a just appreciation of medical qualifications; to make a proper discrimination between true science and the assumptions of ignorance and empiricism,—to afford every encouragement and facility for the acquisition of medical education,—and no longer to allow the statute books to exhibit the anomaly of exacting knowledge from physicians, under liability to heavy penalties, and of making them obnoxious to punishment for resorting to the only means of obtaining it.

THE END.

ERRATA.

Page 38 and 39, for “abcess” read abscess. ” 40, line 19, for “inoperative” read in operation. ” 48, ” 4, for “idiosyncrasies” read idiosyncrasy. ” 115, ” 10, insert between “of” and “the,” certain substances, for example. ” 253, ” 20, for “organic relations” read organizations. ” 256, ” 6, for “officially” read sufficiently. ” 262, ” 15, for “voluntary” read voluntarily. ” 340, ” 20, for “succeed” read succeeded. ” 387, ” 20, insert “is” between “it” and “an.” ” 403, ” 13, for “approbation” read appellation.

Transcriber’s Notes

pg 1 of advertisements Changed: Edwin Hall, Pastor of the Frst to: Edwin Hall, Pastor of the First

pg xviii Changed: Different theories of fever—Boerrhave to: Different theories of fever—Boerhaave

pg xix Changed: its warfare with empricism to: its warfare with empiricism

pg xxiii Changed: Though proper sometimes to withold to: Though proper sometimes to withhold

pg 32 Changed: which act in entire secresy to: which act in entire secrecy

pg 42 Changed: with the idea that it was controled to: with the idea that it was controlled

pg 88 Changed: Was the introduction of innoculation to: Was the introduction of inoculation

pg 96 Changed: Though this limiment had such wonderful power to: Though this liniment had such wonderful power

pg 116 Changed: given to it from the similiarity to: given to it from the similarity

pg 119 Changed: they have now amedical faculty to: they have now a medical faculty

pg 141 Changed: they base their preference is so limiited to: they base their preference is so limited

pg 181 Changed: vivid recollection of one which occured to: vivid recollection of one which occurred

pg 230 Changed: and their exert their full influence to: and they exert their full influence

pg 245 Changed: You will have to do something more, to convine to: You will have to do something more, to convince

pg 252 Changed: the abounding and mnltiform to: the abounding and multiform

pg 253 Changed: this leads to me say to: this leads me to say

pg 297 Changed: This incident leads to me remark to: This incident leads me to remark

pg 340 Changed: He succeed in obtaining a grant for a new trial to: He succeeded in obtaining a grant for a new trial

pg 388 Changed: manifestly blunts the sensibibilities to: manifestly blunts the sensibilities

pg 428 Changed: maintainence of which his recovery to: maintenance of which his recovery

pg 451 Changed: The office of a physcian to: The office of a physician

The Erratas on page 454 have be corrected in the text.