Læknablaðið - 01.12.1963, Side 58

178
LÆKNABLAÐIÐ
training in tlie narrower speci-
alist fields is not something
which can he ohtained from
organized courses, for at this
level it is only by prolonged
apprenticeship that the young
specialist can gain his experi-
ence and learn the skillsof which
liis senior colleagues are mas-
ters. He participates in the work
of the specialist unit and gains
increasing responsibility and it
is during this period that he
should certainly be engaged on
serious research work. It is dur-
ing this period, necessarj' for
the junior specialist to visit
other centres where work of
similar character is heing un-
dertaken and he should spend
considerable periods in these
centres so that he may be com-
pletely familiar witli other tech-
niques and knowledge.
Such a description as I have
given reflects in general tlie
British point of view of train-
ing but anotlier concept holds
in some countries. It is that
specialization in a narrow field
should commence earlier than
I have already indicated, tliat
the trainee from early in liis
career should strictly limit his
field of study and practice. In
certain fields of science tliis
may be justifiable and profit-
able, hut in the sphere of medi-
cine it seems to us in the United
Kingdom that sucli limitation
is undesirable.
Knowledge acquired in one
branch of study is frequently
applicable to or illuminates the
prohlems of another. The liu-
man hody is one, and disease
is no respecter of artificial lines
demarcation. The doctor in
charge of the sick person can-
not saj' thal he is only interested
in the one organ and disregard
the rest. A speeialist in medi-
cine who knows only his own
speciality is a contradiction in
terms. None tlie less, there are
advocates of sucli a type of
training and as was pointed out
many jrea rs ago, tlie narrower
the speciality the more likely
is the practitioner in thathranch
to make claims that he and lie
alone is master of its techni-
ques and tliat those wlio would
follow his must he willing to
concentrate only on its myster-
ies, and under his tutelage.
There is one further vast field
of Post Graduate Education.
Whatever hranch of medicine
has been our chosen carreer,
however well we liave during
our training mastered its tech-
niques and have an understand-
ing of its problems, although we
have established ourselves as
competent practitioners, the ad-
vances of medicine will soon
leave us behind if we do not
remain continuing students.
Much remains and will ever re-
main an individual responsi-
hility, but it is abundantly clear