History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

154 History of Medical Practice in Illinois2. From the very beginning of its medical progress, Illinois has beenfortunate in possessing native sons of high intellectual and surgical attainment,or in attracting men of similar stature to follow their professionalcareers within its borders. In reviewing the lives and works of the earlysurgeons, one is impressed by their extraordinary vigor; their singlenessof purpose; the excellence of their education for those times; their familiaritywith the surgical literature of the United States, England and Europe,and their remarkable vision in all things medical.3. The Illinois State Medical Society, founded in 1840 and reorganizedin 1850, early brought together the active progressive medical and surgicalmen of the state. The records of those meetings, including the formal paperspresented and discussed, and the problems of this rapidly growing profession,have been preserved in the Transactions of the Society,obtainablefor review by the research scholar who will find them of inestimable value.4. The history of surgical advance in Illinois was closely related to thehistory of the medical colleges in the state, one of which (Rush MedicalCollege) was founded as early as 1837. The schools enjoyed varying periodsof popularity and success. Those best fitted to carry on medical and surgicalteaching survived, largely because they were able to obtain anatomic andclinical material for instruction purposes. As the early germs of surgicaleducation sprouted and spread, highly trained surgeons and teachers wereattracted to these institutions. Later, through the vision of the pioneermen of medicine, the medical schools were affiliated with or absorbed bylarge universities. This raised the standards of education, led to the lengtheningof the required time spent in medical school, and re-emphasized theneed for better and more prolonged study of anatomy before surgery waspermitted. There ensued logically an elevation of the scholastic qualificationsof men seeking admission to medical colleges.5. Hospitals, with beds for patients to be used in the clinical teachingof operative surgery and follow-up care, developed similarly but moreslowly than surgery itself.Subsequently nursing schools were establishedto train young women in the work of surgical assistance. With these stepsforward, surgery was in a position to accept the theories of Lister; it couldapply antiseptic methods followed shortly by aseptic technics. By thistransition from antiseptic to aseptic surgical methods, hospital mortalityrates soon were lowered and hospital confinements shortened, and thepeople of the state gradually accepted the advantages of alleviative or curativesurgery as opposed to hasty emergency surgical interventions.6. No doubt the experiences and training that surgeons received duringthe Civil War period stimulated them to greater effort to save lives andreduce human suffering. The surgeons of Illinois took a prominent part