Vol. 60, 1909 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

292
THE CHARLOTTE MEDICAL JOURNAI .
facial, and a posterior branch with the The Doctor's Obligation.—Withtheknowl-.l
occipital.
edge and equipment for the highest service']
As the days passed, the pinna gradually it becomes, in my judgment, a sacred obli-:l
regained its color, and the senation was gation upon the physician to use to the full;
partially restored. On account of the per- his capacities and his qualifications not':
feet growth of the external ear the hearing alone for his fellowman writhing in pain:,
does not seem to have been affected. The before him, but his fellowmen in the throes
j
patient has now returned to work. of social and civic agony. And who need |
10 North 3rd street. " oftentimes the well balanced conservatism j
of a level-headed thinker more than they
j
ThcoDuty ol The Doctor lo His
^eed their material wants supplied or their
|j
Municipality.
physical ills relieved. That verv conserva- (
By Roy K. Flamiapn, M D Health Officer, ^ however, which makes ihe doctor's!
Cnarlottesvine, Va. ,. • ,11 j i- 1 .advice
worth having, renders him slow to •
Duty Sense of the Doctor.—Of all the callingsto
which men give themselves it would
take the initiative in public matters, and so |
if he would make a start toward assuming;/
be easy to demonstrate, if it were not in this his fair proportion of the civic burden j
presence totally unnecessary and inappro- (which share I repeat is larger than that of;,
priate, that the duly sense of the average the average man) he needs to discipline >
doctor of medicine reaches the highest point,
and every failure in the fulfilling of a duty
on the part of the physician is, in my judgment,
because of a failure in the apprehenhimself
by closer attention to the minoi 1
matters of public concern, which daily ,1
come under his observation or lie directly \
within the province of his professional:!
sion of that duty and not on account of wanton
neglect. Asone who for fifteen years has
trod the path of this profession, and whose
duties. •\
The Doctor's Characteristics and Qualifi-'\
'•
cations.— I hold, and I believe it can be
knowledgeofthecommonfailingsofhisclass demonstrated, that the qualities which are,<
is gained by a rather deeper acquaintance demanded of and are developed in the aver- j
with the failure side than with success, I am age doctor by force of the circumstances of
the less hesitant in laying before you now his daily life and in consequence of the 1
somewhat in detail an aspect of the doctor's attitude of mind which comes from his \
duty which has in many localities been peculiar relationship with mankind that he ;
totally misapprehended. is best qualified to lead and instruct the J
Service Withheld.—Though the doctor people of his town or community, along all ;:
gives himself freely in service and sacrifice lines which make for social and civic as
to the welfare of the individual sufferer or well as pliysical betterment. He knows ii
to those individuals who constitute his the needs of the people as a whole, he sees i
practice or who ask for his aid, I wish to the seamy side in the houses of the poor, i
emphasize that he does not render to his he gets the viewpoint of the merchant and |
city, town, village or community that full the clerk, the professor and the rich man i
and efficient service which it has a right to pour their woes and their wants into his ij
expect and which service is all the more open ear, their difficulties and trials become i
binding upon the profession, because only his. Who, therefore, is so fitted to adjust ..^
the members of that profession know to them and to apply the cure?
;
what extent it is withheld.
The Doctor as a Litisen.—\.t\. me quote
as a kind of text to what I have to say Section
one of Chapter three of Principles of
Medical Ethics adopted unanimously by
Responsibilities'for Health Department.— \
To begin with, manv municipalities and I i
any number of smaller communities have j
I
no adequate facilities for meeting the public i
health needs of tlie locality. No record of I
the House of Delegates of the American deaths, no record of births, no idea of the
Medical Association at New Orleans, May number of cases of preventive sickness in , (
7tu, 1903. As good citizens it is the duty the neighborhood, no well defined plan fori i
of physicians to be very vigilant for the lessening the mortalitv or ameliorating the
welfare of the community and to bear their conditions which tend to increase the death 1
part in sustaining its laws, institutions and rate. This stale of affairs imposes a duty, I
burdens. Especially should they be ready , that none but the medical profession can 1
to co-operate with the proper authorities in meet. Whether he realizes it or not the] i
the administration and i
observance of sani- doctor must stand sponsor for the character \
tary laws and regulations. And they should of the Board of Health of his town. It is,
j j
be ever ready to give counsel to the public therefore, distinctlv "up to him" to make; i
in relation to subjects '
especially appertain- jt what it should be. The individual doc- ;;
mg to their profession." tor is the pivot on which the health office \
*Read before the Virginia Medical Society, Oc- swings, for without his co-operation there'
tober, 1909. is no hope for efficiency. The general: 1
: ! i
'•
j