Editor\u27s Note: In October 1963, for the observance of Founders Day at St. Louis       University, the School of Medicine participated in a panel on the objectives of Catholic       medical education. The papers of Reverend E.J. Drummond, S.J., C. Rollins Hanlon, M.D., John       V. King, M.D., and Edward T. Auer, M.D. are presented here

Drummond, E. J.

English

epublications@Marquette

The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 32 | Number 4 Article 4November 1965Why a Catholic Medical School?E. J. DrummondFollow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationDrummond, E. J. (1965) "Why a Catholic Medical School?," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 32 : No. 4 , Article 4.Available at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol32/iss4/4EDITOR'S NOJ 1I: In October 1963, for the observance of Founder:­University, the School of Medicine participated in a panel on the obi medical education. The papers of Reverend E. J. Drummond, S.J., (' M.D., John V. King, M.D., and Edward T. Auer, M.D., are presented ,y at St. Louu · ves of Ca tho/� �ollins Hanlon, re. Why A Catholic Medical Sc REVEREND E. J. DRUMMOND, S.J. The first, immediate, and best an­swer to that question is-to educate capable doctors. Actually, however, the question in the title is but the label for a whole bundle of questions some of which are not so simply answered but which are often thought about and frequently asked. We select a number. What effect does Catholic medical education �ave that is specific or particular to it? Is there such a thing as Catholic med i c(n e? Cat.holic  psychiatry?Catholic obstetncs? Catholic schools recruit non-Catholic students and non-Catholic faculty members; what are their rights and responsibilities? What is the purpose of the time and money and dedication involved in Catholic �edical education? Why not leave 1t to the schools with state support? What is the role of Cath­olic medical education in the United States in the decade ahead? My purpose in however, is only to I. for common underst fix the dimensions problem, so that pre may be made to mOl tions when these are cse remarks, some ground ding and to the general r approaches ,pecific ques­scussed. What are then t1- objectives of Catholic medical edu, ion? The an­swers tend to be one c hree kinds­that . of history wh 1 sees that, since the decision ha:; already been made at some Catho'ic universities to have medical schc ,ls, we "can­not do otherwise thr try to carry the venture forward , , Jong and as well as possible." Tl · second kind of response is that ;uch medical schools provide a re 1gious setting or atmosphere for s' .dents during their years of study. f'he third an· swer endeavors to rel te a Catholic university and medic,. education to more basic issues, and I think, place the university and he school of medicine on firmer grutmds. When we make such inquiries or try to answer them, we might ask one more question-are we talking about a profession, an educational formation, a theology, a culture, or · what?Father Drummond is Vice-President of Medical Administration, St. Louis Univer­sity School of Medicine. 294To take the first category. As Jesuit universities developed in the United States some of them added medical schools to tl1cir university structure and .so committed them· selves to medical education. Saint Louis University was the first to do LINACRE QUARTERLY this back in the 19th century. Social of many of our hospitals. While im­institutions ate products of their his� mediate church support and affilia­tory, genetic and environmental, a�d tion has lessened between manyin their development must remam colleges and the churches which vitally connected with that history; founded them ( this is less true ofnevertheless institutions like indi- hospitals), it is far less the case forviduals have something of their Catholic institutions; and it is quite destiny within their own hands. certain that there is no such thing Within limits, institutions and per- as a good Catholic hospital unless sons can say and do something about it is a good hospital, nor a good what they are and what they are Catholic college or medical school going to be. So I do not regard "his- unless it is a good educational in­torical determinism" as an adequate stitution. It then becomes quite clearexplanation of Catholic medical we must make some distinctionseducation. about purposes. Again, while it is true that a To illustrate, let us use an ap-Catholic medical school can and pendectomy as an exampl.e. As. a should provide an atmosphere which piece of surgery its purpose ts t� giveaffords a kind of protection for the the body an improved opportumty tostudent from the secular or a-reli- maintain or restore its normal gious or a-moral influences he may functioning. As something done byencounter on this or that campus, a particular physician, its purpose that can hardly be made the goal of may be to earn a fee, save a life,Catholic medical education. First of perform an act of charity, or demon­all, it is a negative or at best a de� strate clinical skill. Or to take anfensive position. Furthermore, the . analogy from literature. By. making. providing of an atmosphere or cli- distinctions we can say qmte prop­mate, however important these.may erly that the purpose or objective of be, is not precisely the same thing a poem is to provide a kind __ of en­as providing an education. joyment; but the purpose of tne poet may have been the same or very In the United States higher edu- different-to earn money, to get cation, for all our present concern something off his chest, or to un­about it at national levels, grew and fold a particular vision to a hoped developed initially because of con-· for audience. So there are purposes cern and support at the local and and purposes.community level. The churches were among the first and most active to · I do not, therefore, wish to over­�how this concern and support. So state or understate the influences ofIt was understandable and appro- secularism in or out of educational priate that Such groups right from institutions, nor much less omit the the beginning had a religious or value of the sacraments to which a moral purpose in founding colleges student has such rea:ly access at a and universities. The same kind of Catholic school. Certainly the im­motivation led also to the founding pact that Catholic students have onNOVEMBER, 1965 295 • I ,l? one another is important in the edu­cation process. Nevertheless, in terms of strictly educational purpose there are difficulties in accepting the re­ligious setting or atmosphere as the only answer or as fully adequate to justify the effort and expense in time, in men, in money it takes to manage a Catholic medical school. There are more basic reasons for Catholic universities and Catholic medical education. We speak briefly about one reason-that of witness­ing. Universities are committed to the pursuit of truth and to its com­munication to others. In this a Catholic institution is no different from others. Still the pursuit of truth can be carried out under various organizational structures and ac­cording to various philosophies and traditions. In a pluralistic society like our own, if it is not to become a mere mishmash and operate at its lowest common denominator, there must be examples of what the units in that pluralistic society hold strongly, and these examples must be given by witnessing in a fully committed way. The Catholic Church through her universities can show her concern for the pursuit of truth, being eager, committed, zealous. Today it is easier for all of us in a:nd out of the Church to comprehend in more posi­tive terms the Church's desire to build "a bridge to the contemporary world." In that contemporary world the universities are concerned with the expansion of knowledge and the communication of it to others. Uni­versities are important because with­in them are dedicated men, because in them new ideas to aid man as 296 well as to shape f continually being fc from them come tl morrow. So if there to the contemporar the Church's buildir to the world of !ear and the university. rently does in the at Catholic univers and really witnesses truth is worth pur� befits man to knov ignorant, because b sist him to a better ways, because kr freedom possible, knowledge is a pa1 revelation of God. destinies are , and because eaders of to­.o be a bridge ·orld, part of �mst reach out s, the scholar, what she cur­,suit of truth , she actually '1er belief that g-because it 1 ther than be .-ledge can as­, in a hundred·ledge makes ·ause all true I and further The Church do, bear witness through her univc ies and they are to be her witn, to the wo rld. This also applies her medica l schools and for tl same reasons. Today there are 1 )blems facing man with which tht edical schools are and must be: ncerned-the time old problems of pain and disease, as well as pi blems of geria­trics, problems in m, •ccular biology, problems of genetic:; ,nd population. However, in solvin these, schools and scholars must ; ,, sure they do not further speed 1. ·, the processes and increase the pr('ssures that ap· pear bent on depcr.,Jnalizing man. In this world of chai, ge in which we live, the most sig ificant social change is our increasing sense of alienation from each other and from the deep inner self. In the daily con· text of our living we feel so caught up in forces not_ our own nor of _ourown controlling that we exert little personal responsibility and without LINACRE QUARTERLY which we will b_e caught in a tangle of pulls and pushes. Our plur�lism is rapidly_ becoming one o� inter­dependence rather than of integra­tion. We are becoming fragmented, decentralized, and await direction. In our own time we have seen the air age, the age of synthetics, the atomic age, and the space age. In consequence of the new discoveries in molecular biologies tomorrow may be a DNA age with implications be­yond our present guessing. It is im­portant that the Catholic medical school indicate the same zeal in the quest for biological and clinical truth as any great medical school will evidence, and at the same time it is necessary that it bear witness always to the importance of the human person. Ignatius of Loyola who. founded the Jesuits said that love is provd by deeds rather than by words. So it is not enough to speak of good deeds and corporal works of me�cy, to talk of charity and the healing art. There must be good Samaritans who do and who bear witness. Be­cause it becomes man to know, b�­cause knowledge can improve his life and way of living it, and be­cause knowledge tells us more ofGod, the Catholic Church _rever­ences learning and research in themedical sciences and states that shedoes. But statement is not enough.She must witness her belief by deeds-by having medical schools. ADVICE TO AUTHORS -· C h 1· h · · s a Catholic Articles on topics of potential interest to the at o 1c P ys1cian a and as a physician are earnestly :solicited. A goodly portion of THE L!NACRE QuARTERLY readers are not members of the medical profession but are engaged in allied health fields, teach moral theology, or serve in hospitals, and material fortheir benefit would also be welcome. The subject matter may be predominantlyphilosophical, religious, or medico-moral in nature. Material should be type­written, double-spaced, with good margins and on one side of the paper only.Manuscripts (original and one copy) should be submitted to the Editorial Office of THE LJNACRE QUARTERLY, 1438 South Grand Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri, 63104. One additional copy should be retained by the author. Full editorial privileges are reserved. References if used should appear at the end of the article and should oonform to the usage of the Index Medicus. (This format is that employed in the Abstract Section of THE L!NACRE QuARTERLY.) A brief but pertinent curriculum Vitae of the author(s) should accompany the manuscript. The Thomas Linacre Award is made annually to the author(s) of the original article adjudged to be the best to appear in THE L!NACRE QUARTERLY during each calendar year. NOVEMBER, 1965 297 

Why a Catholic Medical School?

https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4185&amp;context=lnq

Why a Catholic Medical School?

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

epublications@Marquette