Medical College of Virginia - X Ray Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

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Underwater exercise in the pool at the Medical College of Vir- ginia Hospital as a part of the convalescent program for patients with infantile paralysis Electrodesiccation being per- formed with the Oudin current from a teaching model of the spark gap diathermy machine donated to the Medical College of Vir- ginia by Dr. James C. Elsom, ' 86 function in military installations and would like to equip themselves to better apply it in civilian practice. To enhance general appreciation of the place of physical forms of treatment in the manage- ment of the patient as a whole, a new approach to undergraduate teaching is to be made. This will commence with a fundamental study of the physics and physiological effects of the therapeutic agents used in physical medicine, and then progress to observation of their clinical application on a high scientific plane. Since a technical assistant commonly serves as the agent of the physician in the actual administra- tion of physical forms of treatment, serious attention has already been given the organization of a sound and well rounded Physical Therapy Tech- nician Training Program. This will go into effect with the beginning of the next school year. For those eligible for graduate study, the Medical College of Virginia will offer a second degree. Army technicians whose training and experience have been limited to military physical therapy will be accommodated in Vocational Rehabilitation Courses, which may be pursued under the G. I. Bill of Rights, their object being to expedite the assumption of civilian duties in hospitals requiring professional registration. III. SERVICE TO THE SICK The Medical College of Virginia believes that from the practical point of view nothing is more

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Mr. Baruch designated hydrotherapy, spa therapy, and climatology as the areas for special emphasis by the Medical College of Virginia. Three of America ' s foremost Spas have volunteered to co-operate with the Baruch Center in the furtherance of its studies along these lines. In this connection, the exceptional facilities of the Leo N. Levi Memorial Hospital of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and its valuable archives have already been inspected in preparation for the institution of a clinical research program. II. EDUCATION The expansion and improvement of educational opportunities for those specially interested in physical medicine is the second of the Medical College of Virginia ' s obliga- tions. These objectives are inseparable from the development of a vigorous investigative program, for teaching without research is sterile. The two should complement each other to the benefit of both and the advantage of the field as a whole. Two student groups must be served, the medical and the technical. The Medical College of Virginia anticipates the early establishment of Fellowships in Physical Medicine for graduates desiring specialization in this or related branches of medical practice. It will include refresher courses for those who saw physical medicine Christening the therapeutic pool of the Leo N. Levi Memorial Hospital of Hot Springs, Arkansas. The portals of the Hospital are open wide for the reception of those who are in need of the healing waters of the Hot Springs, and who are without means to obtain the necessary medical treatment

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important to research and education in physical medicine than the establishment of a type of service to the sick which utilizes fundamental advances in knowledge, and applies all available quantitative measures designed to evaluate critically the results achieved. To this end it has significantly expanded the clinical facilities of its Hospital Divisions which serve white and negro patients. By the summer of 1945 both hospital units will be furnished with the latest equipment for the practice of all accepted forms of physical medicine, as well as various precision devices permitting the introduction of quantitative methods. The Clinics are being staffed and organized in a manner which will enable them to take their rightful place in a teaching hospital and maintain it on a high academic plane. The curative and diversional services of occupational therapy are to be incorporated into and integrated with the physical therapy prescription. Thus, the influence and results of the Baruch Center ' s research and educational plan should reflect ultimately in the better use of physical forms of treatment to give solace to the sick, to aid in healing, to expedite the return of function, and to engender healthy and vigorous attitudes toward the responsibilities of everyday living. (Please turn to page 14) The paraffin bath as an effective means of applying thermotherapy Hubbard tank for underwater massage and exercise in the newly equipped physical therapy de- partment of St. Phillip Hospital