A short history of plastic surgery.

IT HAS for long been the custom in this hospital for a member of the Medical Staff to give the opening address at the beginning of each academic year. Having been entrusted with the task this morning, it is my very pleasant duty, on behalf of the Medical Staff of the Royal Victoria Hospital, to welcome all present, and in particular, all those fresh from conquests in anatomy and physiology, who are now embarking on their clinical studies in this great hospital. I have no doubt the original purpose of this talk was to tell you, the new students, something of the history and traditions of the hospital, and of the responsibilities which are inseparable from the very great privilege of caring for patients, so I make no apology for directing my opening remarks mainly to you. At the outset let me sympathize with you. Since I occupied your position, the speed of scientific discovery and advance has been staggering and I feel very humble when I consider the amount of knowledge which is expected from you to-day. However, the fact that you have advanced successfully to this stage, probably indicates that your basic education has been such that you are trained to sift information in a critical manner and to absorb principles rather than facts, so that you may gradually build up a total picture in a reproducable form. With so much to learn, I consider this is essential, and your task is possibly made easier now by the developing unity of biology, which, as Hans Popper said, "permits a replacement of memorizing of facts, by the recognition of principles of thinking". No examination system is perfect, and it is unfortunate that the present one fragments your medical course into distinct subjects and presents you with a series of hurdles, each of which must be surmounted before proceeding to the next. Inherant in this somewhat artificial system, is the risk that success in an examination may be interpreted as giving, not only the green light to proceed to the next stage, but also permission to discard all knowledge of the subject you have just passed. Do not fall into this trap. Remember the words of Sir William Osler, one of the great medical writers of all time, who in an address to university students, said "The hardest conviction to get into the mind of a beginner, is that the education on which he is engaged, is not a college course, not a medical course, but a life course, for which the work of a few years under teachers is but a preparation". He went on to say "You can all become good students, a few may become great students, and now and again one of you will be found who does easily and well what others cannot do at all, or only badly, which is John Ferriar's excellent definition of a genius". I hope that you will all fall within one or other of these categories. During the next few years in the out-patients' department and in the wards of this hospital, you will have opportunities to increase your knowledge, by observation, by listening to your teachers and by examination of patients. Make the most of this time, see as much as you can, overcome your natural reticence and make sure that you are in the front row of the tutorial or around the patients' bedside.