Cincinnati, Ohio, May 2, 1899.
To the Editor:
—The letter of Dr. Bayard Holmes in last week's Journal (see April 29, p. 927) meets with my hearty approval. I am and long have been convinced that a written examination, as an exclusive means of determining qualifications in any department, is fallacious. As a means of determining the ability of candidates for hospital interneships, it is strikingly defective. I have no objection to written examinations as one way of finding out what a person may know, but they ought to occupy a subordinate place in the general plan of investigation. The reform method should embrace all that is now included in the written examinations, plus test exercises in the laboratories, in the mortuary and at the bedside of the sick. When this comprehensive plan is adopted, examining bodies may ascertain approximately what candidates may or may not know, and that is