New Haven, Conn., Aug. 17, 1907.
To the Editor:
—Dr. Shambaugh's article on "The Preparation of the Specialist" in The Journal, Aug. 17, 1907, especially as regards what he says about the granting of the Ph.D. degree in medicine, deserves great applause and commendation. It advances a thought that many a progressive man has felt, but failed to express. It does indeed seem peculiar that universities should grant advanced degrees for work done in almost any of the sciences, except in medicine, as if to take no cognizance of its deep and exhaustive sciences. And yet, at present, fully three-fourths of all the research being carried out all over the world is in medicine. Again, of all the scientific journals published, fully three-fourths are devoted to the medical specialties and their fundamental sciences. In every respect, every one of the medical specialties stands in the first rank and on a