Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery - Dental Columbian Yearbook (New York, NY)

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DENTAL EDUCATION HOUGHTON HOLUDAY. A.B., D.D.S. Associate Dean, School of Dental and Oral Surgery Dental education has undergone many changes in the last hundred years. Undoubtedly it has made many mistakes, but at least it can not be accused of becoming static or of need- ing to be torn loose from tradition. Dentistry began as a specialty of medicine. The need for special training in manual dexterity soon became evident, and as the medical schools were un- willing to provide the necessary facilities for the students to acquire skill in the mechanical pro- cedures, dentistry withdrew and set up as an independent profession. The establishment of separate dental schools followed. The faculties of these schools were recruited from the medi- cal profession at first and later from among their own graduates. A highly specialized program of education was developed and unfortunately the previous contact with the biological sciences was all but forgotten. The breach between medi- cine and dentistry was still further widened when the entrance requirements f or dentistry were lowered considerably beneath those of medicine, attracting students who were lacking in the scien- tific training required for entrance into medicine. When dentistry had reached this highly specialized mechanical stage, the disclosures of Dr. Hunter and others proclaimed the fallacy of building a profession based upon any function of the human body without a thorough grounding in the basic biological sciences. The increase in knowledge of diseases of the mouth and teeth, and the growing recognition of the vital rela- tionship of the tissues of the mouth to the body as a whole, has caused dental education to seek again a close relationship with medical educa- tion, and both professions have greatly improved the quality of their instruction by coming under the jurisdiction of univers : ties. The entrance requirements of the dental schools have been ' steadily raised until they are now in many in- stances, as at Columbia, on a par with those of the medical schools. With this closer relation- ship restored, some educators have advocated going the entire distance and again making den- tistry a branch of the medical profession. This plan has met with disapproval on the part of both the dental and medical educators. Many feel that dentistry would lose more than it could gain by such a move and the public would not benefit as a result. It is evident that our ideas about dental ed- ucation have undergone frequent readjustment. Dentistry is functioning as a separate profession, dependent upon the same biological sciences as medicine. However, dentistry still requires a highly developed mechanical ability which is not essential to the general medical practitioner. Probably it will never again be necessary to make any such revolutionary change in dental educa- tion as was made in 1839 when dentistry left the fold of medicine. It will always be necessary, however, to keep our objectives clearly in mind and to adopt such evolutionary changes in den- tal education as may be indicated from time to time. There are changing and growing demands being made upon the profession which must be reflected in the teaching program. We should feel free to reconsider the subject in all its as- pects whenever the spirit moves us and to re- construct it in the light of our growing experi- ence. Some parts we could probably discard as worthless. Others need to be added. It is ver) easy to become tied down to the past, accept- ing what is, as what should be. We need to tear ourselves loose from tradition and periodically, if not constantly, readjust our program to the changes which are taking place. You have received your dental education at a time when it is felt that dental education and medical education are practically on a par qual- itatively, although the content of even the basic courses which are common to both professions are not identical but are adjusted to fit the special needs of each profession. Your training has been better, we believe, than that of any previous group that has been graduated in den- tistry. Your formal dental education has been better than that of your teachers; but we are only slightly envious for we hope and expect that you will do better than we have done, avoid some of our mistakes, and solve some of the problems that we have left unsolved. With all this discussion of courses of study and entrance requirements, we must now con- fess that this formal training which you have re- ceived is but a start in your career. We shall, however, be content if we have succeeded in imbuing you with an enthusiasm to go on. After graduation a prof essional man does not long re- main on the level at which he was graduated. He goes up or he goes down. For many of you, your formal education will probably end with graduation. Much of the progress you will make from then on will depend largely upon the asso- ciations you make with fellow dentists and upon the reading you do. You need to enter upon a course of self-education immediately after gradu- ation, a course that will keep you in touch with the accomplishments of others and which will stimulate you to greater efforts. We are anxi- ous to see you become active forces in the A- lumni Association, in the various dental societies, and social activities of your community. Do not allow your dental education to become static. Twenty-five years from now the formal part of dental training may differ widely from what it is today, but you have received a broad founda- tion and an appreciation of the responsibilities of the profession which should keep you alert and stimulate you to advance with your profession.

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RADIOLOGY PEDODONTIA HOUGHTON HOLLIDAY A.B., D.D.S. Professor of Dentistry HARRY H. MULHAUS Technician EVALD UNDER Technician EWING C. McBEATH D.D.S. , B.S., B.M.. M.D. Professor of Dentistry LEWIS R. STOWE D.D.S. Assistant Professor of Dentistry SOLOMON N. ROSENSTEIN B.S., D.D.S. Assistant Professor MAXWELL KARSHAN B.S.. A.M., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Biological Chemistry JAMES W. JOBLING M.D. Professor of Pathology MAURICE N. RICHTER B.S.. M.D. Assistant Professor of Pathology i ' % V D. H. ANDERSEN A.B.. M.D. Instructor in Pathology

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Osier has said: See to it that you have also an avocation — some intellectual pastime which may serve to keep you in touch with the world of art, science or of letters. Begin at once the cultivation of some interest other than the purely professional. The difficulty is in a selection and the choice will be different according to your tastes and training. No matter what it is, have an outside hobby. Our concern over the proper orientation of dentistry and of ourselves within it, tends to alienate us from other intellectual pursuits. I know of no better way to begin the acquisition of a wider and freer general education than by the adoption of a hobby. Well planned alloca- tion of time for vocation and avocation allows for mental and physical equilibrium, so necessary for life ' s desirable perspective. The young pro- fessional man has it before him to create a suit- able environment for right living; his philosophy of life will be shaped according to the extent of his study of things and men about him, and the ability to put this knowledge to practical use. This essential phase of his education begins with the search for, and more intimate acquaintance with, some outside interest to which his native inclinations may lead him, his avocation. Every- one should feel the need of pleasurable occupa- tions in life besides the pursuit of wealth, of ACQUIRE A HOBBY! E. C. McBEATH, M.D., D.D.S., B.S. Professor of Dentistry some absorbing activity aside from means of livelihood. Again to quote from Osier: You are to be members of a polite as well as of a liberal profession and the more you see of life outside the narrow circle of your work, the better equipped you will be for the struggle. The enjoyment and happy relaxation de- rived from a gratifying diversion give added energy for further investigation and develop- ment. Aside from increased avocational effici- ency, adequate compensation lies in a lenient, generous and understanding attitude toward all men, and a more kindly devotion of the profes- sional man to his patients; his general ability, which they are able to evaluate, impresses them and makes them regard his learning and judg- ment with greater confidence. Doctor Johnson has said: The day has passed when we can be obscurely wise and coarsely kind. May I suggest to those who have not yet chosen a hobby that the art of conversation, now sadly neglected, is one of the most pleas- urable, exacting, refining and universal of all diversions? The comprehensive search for pre- paratory material may lead one to distant fields and to his own true avocation. You will be a better man and not a worse practitioner for an avocation. — Osier.