ABSTRACT
This paper concerns some steps in the process of professionalization of surgery from handicraft to surgery as a science. The paper is based o two studies. The first emanates from the phases in the process including the development of a professional and proficiency monopoly, a professional organization, ethics principles, a professional language and an official recognition of surgery as a profession. The second study concerns the training of army surgeons in the 18th century. From the 16th century, the Barber office had, as a craft guild system, the control over the training of barbers and the establishment of barber's shops. In 1689 the barber-surgeons guild got an exclusive right to examine barber-surgeons and in 1755 the control of all surgeons in the country. The guild developed their own ethics and office oaths. The quality of the training increased to a higher level with the establishment of professorships outside the universities with the task to train barber-surgeons was made. The craft organization, which from the end of the 17th.century was called the Society of Surgeons, received several instructions from the King. Among the most important was the task to provide the Army and Navy with surgeons. This meant for the Society of Surgeons and its members that they got an official recognition. To become a profession, the surgeons still lacked an academic training, which was realized in the 19th.century after the dissolution of the Society of Surgeons in 1797. The second study is an investigation of the training of regimental surgeons in West-Sweden during the 18th.century. The object of this study was to find out if these surgeons had fulfilled the training requirements, which were set up by the Society of Surgeons. Out of 37 regimental surgeons 33 had passed the examination for the master craftsman's diploma. The four regimental barbers, who lacked the formal examination, were all appointed before 1723. Almost half of the regimental surgeons came from Germany. The surgeons were in average 31 years old when they passed examination. Two of the surgeons appointed late in the 18th. century had also a medical doctors degree. The examination requirements increased gradually during the century alongside with the increased knowledge in surgical science. The improved training was an important part of the barber-surgeons professionalization.
Subject(s)
Barber Surgeons/history , General Surgery/history , Military Medicine/history , Societies/history , Europe , General Surgery/education , History, 16th Century , History, 17th Century , History, 18th CenturyABSTRACT
Since 1969, studies of Swedish doctors' tobacco habits and attitudes have been carried out regularly every fifth year. The present investigation was made in 2001 in the form of a questionnaire distributed to a random sample of 5% of Swedish doctors (n = 1,367). The response rate was 80%. The proportion of daily smokers was 6%, a figure that had not changed since 1996. More doctors had never smoked (44% compared with 38% in 1996). Most smokers were found among psychiatrists and surgeons (10%). The use of oral snuff had increased to 16% among male and 5% among female doctors (compared with 9% and 3% in 1996). About 50% of the doctors believed that the use of snuff increased the risk of hypertension, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction and oral cancer. Protection of health was the main reason for not smoking (98%). An overall majority (92%) of doctors advise patients with lung diseases and pregnant women not to smoke, and only a few (16%) never give advice about smoking cessation to smokers with non-smoking related diseases. Many doctors do not allow smoking in their homes (69%) and ask for smoke free hotel rooms (82%). The doctor as a role model for patients was regarded as important by 71%. The number of smokers in the general Swedish population was as low as 19% in 2001, achieving the WHO goal for the year 2000. The low, unchanged level of 6% of doctors who smoke daily indicates that it might be possible to achieve a target level of 5-10% among the general population. The slowly increasing use of snuff requires further studies.
