ANOTHER COLLEGIATE FUNCTION

Dean Edsall of the Medical School in his annual report stresses the deplorable lack of men interested in the scientific and experimental branch of medicine. In pursuing the practical applications of the science one is likely to lose sight of the fact that future progress in medicine is to a great extent dependent upon research work in the laboratory. In establishing the degree of Doctor of Medical Science, however, the faculty show that they are now fully alive to the necessity of stimulating interest in this vital aspect of the profession. And yet, the offering of a degree is not a decisive factor in the choice of a life work; a man chooses a profession because he is interested in it. It is during his undergraduate college days that such interest can best be aroused, and this demands active cooperation between college and medical faculties.

The importance of showing to college students the broad field offered by medicine is only too obvious: the notable achievements in biological research attained under the tutelage of Johns Hopkins University is a case in point. As long as the comparative lack of correlation now existing between the college and medical school continues, there can be no hope of arousing enthusiasm for this work. Undergraduates of scientific inclinations have at present no opportunity of seeing in perspective the advantages offered by medical science. The college, in seeking to attain the proper fulfillment of its pre-professional role, cannot afford to negleet this situation.