Wood Cites Medicine's Tie to Science

"One can no longer be a first-rate doctor without being a first-rate scientist," William Barry Wood '32, chairman of the microbiology department at Johns Hopkins, told a Dunster House audience last night.

In a speech devoted to the study of the new relationship between science and medicine, Wood stressed that "the progress of natural science has forced all physicians to be better scientists." He attacked the tendency of pre-med students to slight science courses, declaring that doctors must acquire much of their scientific background as undergraduates.

The increased importance of science has made the traditional medical school-internship-residency sequence increasingly inadequate for many doctors. Medical school has become a more "introduction to medicine" as a result of prolongation of post-doctoral education, Wood claimed.

In addition to the need for a lengthened period of formal education, medical research has encouraged specialization, opened whole new careers, and created the fantastically difficult problem for the average doctor of keeping abreast of the latest techniques.

Wood pointed out that those now interested in careers in medicine must choose between two very different types of work: research and clinical medicine. He stressed the distinction between pure and applied medicine, and cautioned students to make their choice with full knowledge of the differences involved.

Although the research scientist does important and challenging work, Wood argued that the practicing physician assumes the vital obligation of bringing the benefits of scientific progress to his patients. The doctor thus becomes "involved in human suffering," he said.

Grants Lure to Research

Students are often enticed into research by the availability of pre-doctoral followships for students who elect to work for a Ph. D. rather than an M.D. degree. Many followships for students interested in careers in research are restricted to those working for a Ph. D. in some science; students who elect to go to medical school are thus put at a probable $15 to $20 thousand disadvantage.

Wood declared that he had "no doubt" that Congress would soon recognize the urgent need to change this situation and alter the requirements for federal grants.

Wood also discussed several other ways in which science has affected the nature of medical practice. Increased research has led to an entirely new pattern of diseases which physicians can now recognize and treat. New methods necessary to treat these diseases have in turn raised the cost of medical care at the same time the demand for medical services has risen, he declared.