Significance of Benjamin Rush about the Transformation of the Medical Profession in America - Research Paper Example

Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Historical Significance of Rush 3 Contribution to Physical Medicine 4 Contribution in Mental Health 6 How Benjamin Rush contributed to different Sites of Medicine 7 The John Morgan Building 7 The Pennsylvania Hospital 8 Works Cited 14 Historical Significance of Benjamin Rush in relation to the Transformation of the Medical Profession in early America. Introduction 1One of the men in this world who will never be forgotten is Benjamin Rush. The reason for this is his great contributions and revolutions he did in the medical profession in America. Rush was born in 1745 in Byberry near Philadelphia. He died in 1813 after 68 years of great use. This is one of them men who were transformed by their little education from been creatures to creators. He was an educator and a physician. This man also incorporated politics in his life. From 1761 he ventured into medicine where he went to study under John Redman until in 1766. At this time he was under Rodman he attended many lectures which later helped him in his future life. He later began venturing into politics though not his own career. In all his education life he was been provided for by his mother since his father died when he was six years of age. He grew up as a strong man who later did great things which even to date is serving the whole world. He was really a man to be proud of. He wrote some books and he was well remembered for he wrote the first chemistry book in America. Historical Significance of Rush 2Benjamin Rush returned to Philadelphia from Europe in 1769 and he began practicing medicine when he got home. It was at this time that Philadelphia had begun entering a revolutionary period which ultimately played a key role in the American Revolution. This city was wealthy and it had many resources and also a high population. At twenty three years he was elected as a professor of Chemistry in Philadelphia College. This was just one year after he had come from Europe. He is the one who made the name of this school change to what is currently referred as ‘medical school of the University of Philadelphia.’ This man contributed greatly to mental medicine and physical medicine. He was interested in animals and this made him to do some contributions that are even important in the current society. Contribution to Physical Medicine Bloodletting was the main medical practice that Rush was associated with during his career. This method had been used since long by physicians but this time Rush was doing it with more improvements. He used it widely during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 which was making lives of many to be in danger in Philadelphia. This disease broke out in Water Street in the same town. According to Rush he believed that diseases and particularly yellow fever were caused by excessive accumulation of poison in the body of a human being which was toxic to the body and affected the small blood vessels. In his treatment therefore he aimed at removing the poison and let the body be free from any toxic thing. This would make the blood vessels to continue functioning normally thus one was cured. In doing bloodletting he was involved in carrying out daily bleedings and daily purging with a mixture of calomel and jalap. This would either cure the victim or the victim dies. At one 3incident one of his classmates in Princeton got yellow fever, he was called and he was ready to do all it could take to see that the man was cured. The bloodletting he did for this guy was different than he used to do it. On the first day of the treatment he took almost fifteen ounces of blood and then for the next two days he took eight more ounces. The guy felt that he was not comfortable with this treatment and therefore Rush had to stop his bloodletting. In 1793 there were many complains in the college against his bloodletting method and this made him to resign. After resigning he was free to interact with the outside environment. During this time he witnessed the effects of alcohol on human body but looking at some people in his family and others in the society. He saw the alcohol consumption practices in the town as very unhygienic. He saw the need of eliminating these practices in the society. His campaign in Philadelphia was heard by many and they were reformed. He saw the need of little alcohol for medical reasons and this was later used by other physicians to analyze the impact of alcohol into the body and also to know how to treat any problems resulting from excessive consumption of health. Therefore Benjamin Rush also contributed to all the treatments we have for the alcohol related problems. Apart from using his method to treat people against yellow fever, Rush also spread medical and non-medical education to the people in Pennsylvania. This one he thought was important to uphold the dignity of the whole American republic. In the last quarter of the 18th century he influenced many people in America through his spreading of medical education. He believed that scientific knowledge was necessary for all doctors to avoid use of the traditional 4methods which he said used trial and error method. He saw that the two years that had been set in colleges for medical education as less to fully equip the learners with all the required empirical and theoretical and he therefore increase the years to three. Most of his lectures he gave while in Philadelphia are still quoted today in the field of medicine. Some of his addresses where also published such as the “sixteen Introductory Lectures.” Contribution in Mental Health Many scholars say that what Rush did in treatment of mental illness was ahead of his time. Due to this reason he is regarded as the ‘Father of American Psychiatry.’ He was a psychiatrist in nature and that is why he could observe people and then come up with good reasons why they are over consuming alcohol He wrote a book on psychiatry which was titled ‘Medical Inquiries and Observations upon the diseases of the mind’. He did classification of the different types of mental illness their causes and cures. Rush had in mind that the cause of many mental illnesses was disruptions of blood circulation. He believed that the treatment to this illness was use of devices which improved blood circulation. Some of the methods he saw could be used were restraining a chair. In Pennsylvania mental patients were in wanting conditions and this touched Rush very much. He led a campaign for these mental patients to be kept in special wards where 5they could be given more care and support. He saw that mental patients needed special treatment which could also require huge brains. Rush did not know what to do with the mental patients however something he had is that the method which was used was not a solution to the problem. The methods which were used then were chains and dungeons. What he did to help in these situations was to take the patients from the drudgery and place them in the normal hospital environment. To some it helped and they covered and returned back home cured. This approach was later referred to as moral therapy. Due to his great works Rush is sometimes considered a pioneer of occupational therapy. He is also remembered as the first person who described Savant syndrome. This was another great achievement he made in medical profession. Most of these descriptions were very important to future scientists since they relied on them to do whatever they wanted to do concerning the particular area of interest. Rush also pioneered the idea of addiction. He did a thorough research to know why people in Philadelphia were over consuming alcohol and the effects of the same. This he did after dealing with yellow fever and retiring from Philadelphia College. He proposed that addiction was a mental disease which when left to grow leads to addiction. Due to this he campaigned against over consumption of alcohol in his area to void people getting into addiction. Just like other mental diseases he saw this as a serious one like the others. He saw how difficult it was to change the mind to adapt to the normal situation thus said addiction should be controlled in advance. How Benjamin Rush contributed to different Sites of Medicine The John Morgan Building 6This is a building found in medical school of the University of Pennsylvania. Rush attended and gave lectures in this institution. This building in this institution is named after John Morgan who was the founder of the medical school in 1765. Rush used to attend to Morgan’s lectures n 1765. This university was moved from to different places and in its final destination it is where the real name was used. Morgan was a man who really helped Rush in his education. He made him a creator in the society and liberated him from the chains in the society which hinder a man from achieving his goals. He was really helped by this man and in all what he did in future most of it was through the knowledge he had acquired under Morgan. This building became an important tool to the university and even to date many researches are been made there. Most of the chemicals that are used in chemistry are tested in this building making it an important figure. The Pennsylvania Hospital According to Benjamin Rush this was one important figure that helped him greatly in his medical life. It is from here that he analyzes certain problems that faced man. He worked in the hospital for a period of years and this gave him real experience on human nature. Today this hospital remains to be one of the most developed, reliable and viable medical institutions in the place. However Rush did not contribute to the building of this hospital, the many researches and arguments he gave were of great use. For instance in the case of mental illness he said that the traditional methods that were been used then had no impact on the patient. He tried to find 7alternative ways to this however it was a difficult task. What he proposed and is still used today in this hospital and other many hospitals in the world at large is that the mental patients should be isolated from the other patients so that they can be given special care. This is the knowledge that was later adopted by future psychiatrists and it really helped them to get solutions to mental illness. Knowledge used to treat mental patients today is part of what Benjamin Rush was doing in this hospital. This hospital therefore remains to be significant figure in the history of America not only because of its great founders but because of Rush’s ideas and arguments. All these show how education transformed Rush and he was ready to met all the needs of the people in the society. It is through such hard works that later physicians saw the need of serving the society to their best. This is even the attitude of the medical students in this century. They are all aiming at serving the society better and liberating man from those chains in the society like diseases which make man to be less productive than he could have been. Most of the works that Benjamin Rush did was made to help others in the society. He opened up the minds of young literates in medical profession in his society. Such literates later became of importance to the society. He therefore greatly contributed to the success of other small physicians who arose in the area. Medical profession was also perceived as a good career since many young people in that society were intrinsically motivated by what Rush was doing. He changed the myths that existed in the society and gave people direction towards a better future free from all sorts of illness. Some of his motivating speeches and lectures are still important today in the medical profession to equip learners with what they ought to do to serve the society better apart 8from apparently getting the empirical and theoretical knowledge. For instance in Paris all that which is preached about medical profession is entirely what Rush was saying those days he was alive. His life therefore made great impacts to those who lived then, to those who are living now and it will also be important in the future generations. Benjamin Rush in Veterinary Rush was not only interested in human life but also wanted to know more about other living organisms. He observed various diseases in animals and he was eager to know what led to these problems and the possible ways he could use to eliminate such things in the society. However he had no much interest in this, he gave some reasons for the cause and cure of some of the problems that were affecting these animals. He wanted to help his society to be free from some calamities which often stroke and killed thousands of their cattle. He saw this as a good way of eliminating vices in the society and makes man reliable. Some of his doctrines although very few are still important in this field. It also helped other professionals who wanted to do more about animal care. He changed the motives of the people in the society and they perceived this as a career which could earn one a living. This is even the reason many people in the current society do not perceive veterinary as a reliable career. Change in Society The main changes that Benjamin Rush brought to the society were elimination of odd practices which were been used in treatment. To some extend it is said that Rush modernized the society then because of his great arguments against some practices that were been used. He saw the practices as poor and also as ineffective for human beings. A case of this is in mental illness 9where he greatly argued against the chains and other practices that were been used then. Although he did not have any knowledge in this, what he did pertaining this was beyond the knowledge of those days. Benjamin Rush also brought the heart of humanness in the society. This was what was required for any physician to serve the society effectively. He felt the need to help others more than just been in a career that could earn him a living. His motives were to serve the people in the society not to benefit from them. This is the reason why in some cases he offered free treatment. This is still of great importance to the people in this profession today since they are to pursue medicine as a career to be used to help the society more and not expecting huge benefits from the same. He made this profession to be perceived as really the key one in any society. These are even some reasons to why this is a well paid career compared to others. To become a physician as he did is to get fully committed to serve the people in the society on whichever grounds. He thus showed how life of any human being is precious and ought to be taken care of Some other problems that were in the society were also mitigated if not solved in the society. To some extend some people got to understand what he was campaigning for and they changed for their good. Some of the tactics that he used in his campaigns on such vices in the society are still important today to help the real victims of the circumstance. Rush also saved many lives those days. For instance during the outbreak of fever, his treatments helped many to recover if not to be cured. Many people had been in fear of death which was always knocking at their doorstep. Therefore he made people in this society to be out of fear of such small issues. This is what even the current physicians are aiming at, to safe lives and reduces the death rate. Conclusion Medical profession is one of the challenging careers that are in the society. Benjamin Rush made many contributions to this profession. Some other institutions have begun growing under this big name that made tremendous changes in the society. During the cure of yellow fever, Rush noticed that diseases were caused by poisons which chromed in the body of a human being and then made his or her small blood vessels to stop functioning normally. He saw the solution to this condition was to remove the poison and then allow the small blood cells function normally. This is the reason why he used blood letting in cure of yellow fever. To some large extend it worked and he rekindled the lives of many in the society. In mental illness, he observed that the chains and other practices which were been used as ineffective. Although he had less knowledge in this what he proposed was beyond the knowledge of those days and helped some mental patients to recover. He argued that mental patients had to put separate from other patients so that they could get special treatment. This was the good environment which could help such people to recover. He attached the seriousness deserved to this kind of illness and that is why psychiatrists today are forced to do more study so as to able to solve the problems with mental patients. Works Cited An Address to the Inhabitants of the British Settlements in America, Upon Slave-keeping. Philadelphia: Printed by J. Dunlap, 1773. Benjamin Rush, M.D: A Bibliographic Guide (1996), Greenwood Press. Hoolihan Christopher. An Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform: A-Z Supplement. New York: University Rochester Press, 2008. Zdenek, M. David. The white plague in the red capital: The control of tuberculosis in Russia, 1900—1941. Washington, DC: ProQuest, 2007. McAallum, E.Jack. Military medicine: from ancient times to the 21st century. London: ABC-CLIO, 2008. Levine HG. The discovery of addiction. Changing conceptions of habitual drunkenness in America. J Stud Alcohol. 1978 Jan; 39(1):143–174. Haakonssen Lisbeth. Medicine and morals in the Enlightenment: John Gregory, Thomas Percival and Benjamin Rush. New Jersey: Rodopi, 1997. Starr Paul. The social transformation of American. London: Basic Books, 1982. The Spur of Fame: Dialogues of John Adams and Benjamin Rush, 1805-1813 (2001), Liberty Fund. Read More