STUDENTS IN HOSPITALS

Hokitika Guardian, 16 July 1930, Page 3

STUDENTS IN HOSPITALS

STATEMENT BY OR COR KILL

THE POSITION TO-DAY

WELLINGTON, July 11

Believing iliat there is a serious clanger of sentiment'overcoming reason m tile question of admitting medical students to St. Helens Hospitals, Dr i. E. Corkill, president of the VVelington Division of the British Medical Association, and vice-president of the ihstetrical Society, luts issued a statenent reviewing the proposal. “The protests have been entirely on sentimental grounds, ’ and much has ecu said of the wishes of the great minder of those institutions (Mr R. I. Seddon),” he states. “It would seem necessary, therefore, to put the 'osition a,s it appears to those wlio be that, in the interests of tlm womanhood of New Zealand as a '•hole, it is necessary to utilise aV ■ossihle opportunities fer the practice’ raining of the future medical .men of he country. CHANGING CONDITIONS. “In the first instance, with all due. honour and respect to Mr Seddon,. ii must be pointed out that these instituions were not established by private, endowment, but by public money, and. •at future generations must have th right- to adapt the working of these hospitals to suit changing conditions, 'ho utilisation of the St. Helens Hos-, pitals for student training is largely. !ue to an Insistent, public demand for '"Her midwifery, and is but another of the inevitable changes. To suggest hat the entrance of students into "hese hospitals is a matter of self interest is totally wrong. A standard of practice which was accepted twenty--hve years ago would not be tolerated at the present time. The Government imposed the most stringent regulations on the practice of midwives, maternity nurses, and doctors. . “There was, therefore.” continues '*’• Corkill, “a very definite respon'hility of the Government to see that he necessary practical training is made available. This the Department of Health realises. Where then are hr, students to obtain that training

Hiicli the public itself is demanding?. 1r Chapman, in the House, .states -mguelv that the medical students can them training in other directions? The,payment of fees at St Helens Hos-

’ : +als is used as an argument, hut are Here any hospitals at which fees are oot charged at least nominally? Fees are charged at the Public* Hospitals H which our students must of necessity receive their instruction in other branches of medicine. Granted that He establishment of the new maternity hospital and training school in Duned•>i will, as we hope, largely solve 1 the problem, it yet remains, a fact that •' oHdin is a comparatively small city and that the utilisation of every other: reasonable opportunity for clinical instruction is for the benefit of th 1 " mothers of the Dominion.” DEPARTMENT’S VIEWPOINT;

The views of the tfepartmeht o f "Tpnlth are also set out- in a .statement. "’Ms points out that admissions e r students, to St. Helens Hospital ir Hijnedin began in 1918. Because c' 'he rapid increase in the number o ( Indents the principle of making ad mission was extended to other ctio 1 I^2l-22. Students who have this privilege are final year students Tt i‘ •minted out that this is the onhalternative to allowing them to,acquinexperience in private practice, often a districts remote from other medical •dviee.

Applicants for admission as patient" St. Helens Hospitals are permittee 1 state on the forms which they fill in •••hether they are prepared to allow he attendance of a student doctor and pupil nurses, acting under supervision •nig the case. Their wishes are • I ways respected. 11 le statement says* •nt the presence of students engentfrs keen competition between the two "roups. In training students and mid wives there is only one and, at the most, two final year students present t each confinement.

T)r Agnes Bennett, medical officer. 'Vellington St. Helens Hospital, says **h*it otily on rare occasions have women •hjeoted to the attendance of a medimil student and always their wishes T >ave been respected. “There is no other system of maternity hospitals in New Zealand,” she says, “which offers ■•'Wniate training for student doctors.”