History of Modern Medicine
History of Medicine in Canada | |
| The battle for control of our health system began long before confederation. Allopathic (conventional) physicians began accruing power as early as 1759,when legislation was drafted to protect an unsuspecting public against quacks or "snake oil peddlers." Since many physicians sat on government benches, the precedent was set. Doctors set the rules. Unfortunately, lumped into the category of quacks along with the snake oil peddlers were bona fide health practitioners such as herbalists and later, homeopaths. By 1839,the College of Physicians and Surgeons was well established in Canada. The College held the mandate to determine who could enter the profession, to establish the content of the curriculum, and to set standards of practice. However, by this time, another branch of medicine had established itself in Europe: Homeopathy. Unlike allopathic medicine, which proposed the use of drugs to quell symptoms of disease, homeopathy used minute traces of natural substances to encourage the body to fight the disease using its own remarkable resources.(To this day, homeopathy remains a major treatment modality in Europe and India. Its most celebrated adherents are the British Royal family, most of whom are well recognized for their good health and longevity.) By 1859,Canadian homeopaths had their own board of examiners, and a training program. The profession was equal in every way to all allopaths. But it was not to remain this way for long. Homeopaths and eclectics (similar to today 's naturopaths) had begun to make serious inroads to the allopaths ' earnings. Moreover, these nature-based practitioners were threatening their very business by advocating proper diet, fresh air and sunshine, plenty of rest and gentle medications to maintain good health. Allopathic doctors of the time were relying on bloodletting, blistering, cleansing bowels with large doses of mercurous chloride and tartrate of antimony (both of which are highly toxic), and prescribing arsenical compounds and opium as tonics. Unable to dismantle their competitors, the allopaths instead prevailed upon the government to encourage homeopaths to join them in one college with one board and one training facility. It was proposed that each modality have representation on the board, develop its own curriculum, and examine its own candidates. As logical as this may have appeared to the homeopaths, in entering this agreement, they had unwittingly signed themselves into oblivion. In a classic example of "Step into my parlour said the spider to the fly," the homeopaths and eclectics were gradually squeezed out of key positions and their treatments and theories dropped from the curriculum. By1928, it was illegal to practice homeopathy in Ontario. Osteopathy, a modality involving manipulation and massage, was also banished from Canada, although it flourishes today in the US, throughout Europe and in the UK. Only the chiropractors have managed to evade the many attempts made to discredit their profession. Sadly for all, this tradition of slamming practitioners of natural health persists today. But one thing has changed: Today we are better educated and better informed. We read, we think, we challenge. We are capable of making decisions for ourselves and for our families. We no longer need the government to protect us from charlatans and snake oil peddlers. Ask yourself, do you believe that the handful of men and women who run the Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons in Ontario and other provinces have the right, the wisdom or the qualifications to decide for YOU which health modalities best protect your well being? Do they know how YOUR body will react to the powerful and often damaging drugs their members have no choice other than to prescribe for you? These are questions that MUST be addressed if we are to claim back our right to the safe and credible health care we truly deserve - our right to choose the health supplements and services that can assist in preventing sickness and help us heal. Trueman Tuck | |
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