Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine - Synapsis Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

Page 17 text:

THE EMERGENCY ROOM A VERITABLE hive of therapy, this is the busiest of all the departments of the hlospital. All types of cases enter and leave the ward in an endless stream all day, and twenty-four hours a day are the hours,- the staff is always on hand. This department also provides the minor surgery clinic for the Upper Classmen, who visit there in sections on certain afternoons of the week to observe all the procedures carried on in the treatment of the various conditions. Many kinds of Minor Surgery are practiced, and students obtain first-hand experience of all the branches, from a simple injection to a correction under anaesthesia. A large number of out-patients attend daily to have surgical dressings renewed, and in this way many interesting conditions are observed. The attendant staff is drawn from the finest in the Hospital, much of the work being performed by the leading surgeons, and the assistants and nursing staff receive special instruction in the Emergency Room routine, and in this way a fine, swift, and sterile procedure is maintained at all times. And this is one department where efficiency and speed are indispensable. Fate is no respecter of the time of day or night, and the call for urgent service may ring through at any time. Everything is always ready for — Emergency!

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DEPARTMENT OF ROENTGENOLOGY HIDDEN away in the Hospital basement, and cut oFf from the other departments by thick, lead-lined doors and lead-glass windows, the X-ray section carries on a heavy curriculum of work. P. C. O. has reason to be proud of this section, both because of the magnificent equipment installed, and because of the experience and competence of Dr. Paul T. Lloyd, who has complete charge of the department. The completeness of our modern X-ray apparatus, which includes two Roentgen units, one adapted for stereoscopic studies, and a fluoroscope, was largely made possible by the generosity of Marie Louise Curtis Bok, our most honored benefactress, and very good use is made of the apparatus during the twenty- four hours of the day, for the department is always available for emergency work. X-ray is available both to Clinic and private patients. Dr. Lloyd is very alive to the value of Roentgen technique to the Osteopathic physician, and is always keen to impress upon Students the importance of its use. X-ray is of very great service to the Osteopath both as a diagnostic aid, and also as therapy when used in conjunction with regular osteopathic treatment. Bearing in mind the lamentable dearth of Osteopathically trained Roentgenologists, Dr. Lloyd gives up a large amount of his time to an extra-curricular course of X-ray instruction, both didactic and practical, in the Roentgen technique. Due to the lack of working-space and the expense of materials, however, this class is of necessity small. .

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THE 1935 SYNAPSIS GREETINGS TO THE CLASS OF 1935 M ,y OR a score of years I have been privileged to meet, to teach, and to observe m 1 students of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathy. Whatever other satis- factions may be expressed, in restrospection of men and things in the life of the College during that period, consciousness of a stimulated tone and spirit to the classes as they pass along and on is a crowning reward. After all the aim of the College is to do more than merely tran.smit knowledge and training. Character education is an essential purpose of any good educational system. Character is not necessarily the result of instruction. It is the outgrowth of relationships that are formed, and loyalties that are. evoked in the reactions of group life. Fundamentally, Morality should be an equal consideration with Art and Science. Morality determines the very texture of our life. Art may be characterized as creative imagination. Science is creative reason. Morality is creative will. We cannot of course limit and define the acti ities of the human spirit by such sharp distinctions. No scientist works without imagination. No artist works without intelligence and will. But in each there may well be something humanizing, something transcendental and touching to the springs of conduct. And so the realization of an esprit de corps in our institution is an im- portant matter. Each year should and does reveal a character, a tone to our being that inspires a spirit of aspiration to lead .students and faculty to commit their energies as well as their minds to the attainment of high standards. I have few, if any, misgivings about your conduct of osteopathic affairs. I am certain that there is no lost sense of values with respect to fundamental osteopathic teachings. But I would caution you in the words of Sir Gilbert Murray: The chains of the mind are not broken by any form of ignorance; the chains of mind are broken by understanding. The past of osteopathy stands to profit you more than all the multiplicity of ideas within reach today. You probably realize that you will enter the field of practice at a time when the world is experimenting and where imagination is at work trying to transform and to illuminate human experience. All the garnered fruits of experience are today being subjected to the acid test of experimental ism. In such a picture I am moved to remark to you that you must strive to keep your feet on the ground. You will best serve your interests and maintain your freedom by keeping hold always of o.steopathy ' s past, and treasuring up the best out of that past. With that as a foundation there will be ample opportunity to deepen the mind, to broaden the understanding and to train the intellect. In a present that requires resignation and courage, you are in a position to draw out of the past, evidence of high thoughts and great decisions to guide you. Consider well the wisdom in the remarks of the Hon. James ] I. Beck, former Solicitor General of the United States, who said: Let him, while he is a student, bathe himself in the fountains of knowledge that connect him with the past; thereby learning that in his little life it is not only important that he should pick up some shells upon the ocean ' s strand of truth, but that he should be very discriminate as to the character of the shells he chooses. Let him pick up those that will enrich the museum of his mind and add to the treasure of his soul. Edgak O. Holden, Dean.