Title page of "Letters To A Young Physician..."
James Jackson’s 1855 Letters to a Young Physician Just Entering Upon Practice makes for great reading. The volume consists of 27 “letters” of advice from Jackson to the newly qualified medical graduate. Jackson covers a variety of subjects and starts with a lengthy dedication to his friend, John Collins Warren, enumerating his colleague’s accomplishments, thanking him for his friendship, and giving the reasons for his publication of the work in hand.
Jackson was a physician, born in 1777 and trained in both America and England. With John Warren, the above-named friend, Jackson agitated for the creation of hospital and insane asylum in Boston; in 1811, their efforts were rewarded with the foundation of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Jackson served as their first physician until his retirement in 1835.
By 1855, then, Jackson was uniquely well-placed as a leading, if not outright pioneering, figure in early American medicine to write a volume of advice and commentary to young physicians. Letters includes an introductory essay focusing on Jackson’s general theory of medical practice and then goes on to cover more specific topics: sickroom behavior and diseases of particular portions of the anatomy, including headaches, dyspepsy, and boils. The medical advice may be outdated, but the volume, particularly the introductory letter, provides a fascinating look at mid-nineteenth century ideas of medicine, doctors, and professional behavior.
Is medicine a “liberal” profession? Modern-day usage of the term “liberal” has shifted, but Jackson has a complex argument by which he seeks to inform young physicians of their place in a long history.
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