Wijnen, Elise

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 9 | Number 1 Article 2January 1941A New VentureElise WijnenFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationWijnen, Elise (1941) "A New Venture," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 9: No. 1, Article 2.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol9/iss1/2THE Ll~ACRE QUARTERLY A NEW VENTURE By ELISE WIJNEN, M.D. "Do ~'ou mean to tell me that you are a sister as well as a doc-tor? Why, I never heard of such a thing.'1 That is still a common reaction1 especially among doc-tors, when they meet one of the Catholic Medical Missionaries for the first time. They have forgot-ten or h jlve never realized that in the early ages of the Church the care of the sick was almost exclu-sively in the hands of religious, both mOl}ks and nuns. They only remembe( that for many centuries it was ltonsidered improper for nuns to practice medicine and above a¥ obstetrics. They are usually familiar with many com-munities pf sisters whose rules for-bid them to help in the delivery room. Such a radical change in policy, t~erefore, startles them in-to many Questions. It is in order to answer such queries that this article was written. . In the first place, there can be no doub~ that qualified medical men and women are greatly need-ed in the missions. The poverty and helpless suffering in India, China a~d Africa are too well known to require description here. For man~' years Protestants have realized this God-given oppor-tunity for charity and contact. They haye built up an enviable reputatioll for first-class medical care in the Orient. In compari-son with tpeir well-equipped hospi-tals and large army of doctors, . the Catholic missions are woefully inadequate. The first attempt to supply this need systematically and with some assurance of stability was made in 1925 when Dr. Anna Dengel founded the Society of Catholic Medical Missionaries, in Washing-ton, D. C. In 1939, the Mother-house was transferred to Fox Chase, Philadelphia, Pa. This re-ligious community, which limits its activities to medical work in the missions, received its pfficial vindication when in 1936 the Holy Father issued a decree stating that "We would like to see new religious institutes founded for women who· will dedicate them-selves principally to health work in the missions. * * * The sisters should obtain certificates as doc-tors and nurses * * *." Since 1927 the Catholic Medi-cal Missionaries conduct a hospi-tal in the North of India, exclu-sively for women and children. This limitation is necessary be-cause of the rigid seclusion of the Mohammedan and Hindu womE.'n, who refuse to attend general hos-pitals or submit to the examina-tion of men-doctors. This sixty-bed hospital had 1,385 admissions in 1939, and 20,000 out-patients in its dispensaries. There were 272 deliveries, of which 52 were abnormal. This unusually large percentage of abnormals is caused in part by the great number of THE L1NACRB QUARTERLY tlat pelves, deformed by osteo-maJ~cia , 'file incidence of osteo-maJ&,cia in Jl country like sunny India is a good indication of the seclusion of its women in their smaU d l!r rk home~. General 611rgery also claims a lar~e share of the sister's work. ' Of the 65Q uper/ltions in 1939, 78 were major procedures. Surgery in the Orient has the additional h~~ard!i of malnutrition, anemia ancf chronic malaria, present in nearly every patient. Anesthesia is almost always limited to open drop ether and chloroform. Tr~nsfusions are beset with all kinds of difficulties, due to fear among the patients and relatives, malaria and syphilis among the donors and danger of contamina-tion of the tluids and apparatus. Even simple intravenous infusions are often accompanied by alarm-ingly serIous reactions. Yet in ~pite of all these handicaps a great deal can often be done for these women, and grateful pa-~ients carry away the first favor-Ilble impressions of Christianity in action. The Medical Mission Sisters hereby acknowledge a debt of gratitude to the Catholic doctors of America who have helped and rncouraged them in their new ven- , ture. They have taught and are teaching our sisters in medical /lnd nursing schools. (Five of our sisters-doctors have graduated from schools in Philadelphia and Washington, and several students . are following in their footsteps.) For all the encouragement and in-formation, for the books and mag-azines, the instruments and drugs which our Catholic doctor-friends have sent us, we offer a heartfelt: Thank You. Condolences Just as this issue goes to press, we learn of the death of the brother as well as of the uncle of Ur. T/1Omas M. Brennan. We feel certain all officers and member~ of CllthoJic l>hysicians' Guilds throughout the country, will join the Executive Committee and the J,p,ACRE sipcerest Brennan, Q U ARTERLY in sending sympathy to Doctor the zealous President of the Federation. The Secretary of the Federa-tion, Dr. Frank L. Denzer, sent Doctor Brennan a letter in the name of the Executive Committee saying "The members of the Com-mittee have requested me to extend to you and to your family their heartfelt sympathy and to tell you that they will offu up prayers for the repose of their souls." 

A New Venture

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A New Venture

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