Professionalization of Medicine

April 8

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Connecticut Gazette (April 8, 1774).

“… that the Practice of Physick may be put under some better Regulation.”

A “Number of Physicians in the County of WINDHAM” inserted an advertisement in the Connecticut Gazette in the spring of 1774.  In it, they professed that they had been contemplating “how great Importance it is that those who enter upon the Practice of Physick, should be endued with Knowledge and Skill.”  That was necessary, the physicians asserted, “to enable them to prosecute the undertaking in the most useful Manner,” achieving the best results for their patients.  That being the case, they called a meeting of “their Brethren of the Faculty” in Windham County to discuss “the Matter, and (if it thought expedient) prefer a Memorial” or petition “to the General Assembly … that the Practice of Physick may be put under some better Regulation.”  At a glance, their notice suggested that increased professionalization in their field would yield better care for patients.

The timing of their advertisement, however, suggests that this “Number of Physicians” may have had other motivations.  A call for “some better Regulation” may have been an attempt to reduce or eliminate competition from others who provided various forms of medical treatment.  Consider the testimonial about the hernia trusses “made and applied by Mr. STEPHEN JOHNSON, of Ashford, in Windham-County” that first ran in the March 25 edition of the Connecticut Gazette.  Then note the date, March 26, on the announcement from the “Number of Physicians.”  Did a “Number of Physicians” actually consult with each other before inserting that advertisement in the next issue of the Connecticut Gazette?  Or did one of them see the testimonial about the trusses that proclaimed Johnson “hath the greatest Skill in that Business of any Man we ever heard of” and determine that such competition threatened the livelihoods and, just as significantly, the status of physicians in the area?  Perhaps a single physician called the meeting, hoping to rally support among others.  The advertisement also served as a counterpoint to the testimonial about Johnson’s trusses, especially when both appeared in the Connecticut Gazette on April 1 and on the same page on April 8.

Professionalization of the medical field accelerated in the late eighteenth century.  Doctors displaced midwives, but women who provided care were not the only targets of physicians who received formal training.  These two advertisements seem to tell a story of a “Number of Physicians” (or perhaps just one with a lot of initiative) to limit the medical treatment delivered by other men who did meet the standards of the “better Regulation” they envisioned.

June 20

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago this week?

Jun 20 - 6:18:1770 New-York Gazette or Weekly Post-Boy
New-York Gazette or Weekly Post-Boy (June 18, 1770).

“She has been approved of by several Gentlemen of the Profession.”

When Mrs. Fisher, a midwife, moved to a new residence in the summer of 1770, she place an advertisement in the New-York Gazette or Weekly Post-Boy to let the public know where to find her.  She advised that she “is removed from the House at White-hall, to a House in Broad-Street, two Doors above Mr. Deane’s, Coach-Maker, and right opposite to Mr. Charles Philips’s.”  Although that information was important, Fisher may not have considered her location the most significant detail she included in her advertisement.  After all, she concluded her notice with a description of where to find her, but she first established her experience and other credentials.

Fisher commenced her advertisement by noting that she “has practiced MIDWIFERY in this City for several Years,” a reminder to “former Friends” who availed themselves of her services as well as an introduction to any readers not yet familiar with her reputation.  Yet Fisher realized that her extensive experience might not have been sufficient to convince prospective clients to hire her.  To enhance her standing, especially in the eyes of readers skeptical of women practicing any sort of medicine, even midwifery, Fisher declared that “she has been approved of by several Gentlemen of the Profession.”  Medicine became increasingly professionalized throughout the eighteenth century; in the process, women who had traditionally prepared and administered remedies for various ailments and provided other services, including midwifery, found themselves pushed to the margins, displaced by men who claimed greater expertise based on formal training.  Fisher may not have considered any of those “Gentlemen of the Profession” more capable of delivering children and caring for mothers throughout the process, but her advertisement suggests that she suspected prospective clients would at least feel reassured by an imprint of masculine authority.  In presenting her services to the public for consideration, Fisher conformed to some of the expectations she believed would yield more clients as she faced greater competition from the “Gentlemen of the Profession.”