Dangers and Opportunities
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manhood and womanhood, and also men and women of mature years,
are exposed, and I dare not hold my peace. There is need of greater re-
finement, both in thought and association. There is need of Christians’
being more elevated and delicate in words and deportment.
The work of the physician is of a character that if there is a coarse-
ness in his nature, it will be revealed. Therefore, the physician should
guard carefully his speech and avoid all commonness in his conversa-
tion. Every patient he treats is reading the traits of his character and
the tone of his morals by his actions and conversation.
The light given me of the Lord regarding this matter is that as far as
possible lady physicians should care for lady patients, and gentlemen
physicians have the care of gentlemen patients. Every physician should
respect the delicacy of the patients. Any unnecessary exposure of
ladies before male physicians is wrong. Its influence is detrimental.
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Delicate treatments should not be given by male physicians to
women in our institutions. Never should a lady patient be alone with a
gentleman physician, either for special examination or for treatment.
Let the physicians be faithful in preserving delicacy and modesty under
all circumstances.
In our medical institutions there ought always to be women of
mature age and good experience who have been trained to give treat-
ments to the lady patients. Women should be educated and qualified
just as thoroughly as possible to become practitioners in the delicate
diseases which afflict women, that their secret parts should not be
exposed to the notice of men. There should be a much larger number
of lady physicians, educated not only to act as trained nurses, but also
as physicians. It is a most horrible practice, this revealing the secret
parts of women to men, or men being treated by women.
Women physicians should utterly refuse to look upon the secret
parts of men. Women should be thoroughly educated to work for
women, and men to work for men. Let men know that they must go to
their own sex and not apply to lady physicians. It is an insult to women,
and God looks upon these things of commonness with abhorrence.
While physicians are called upon to teach social purity, let them
practice that delicacy which is a constant lesson in practical purity.
Women may do a noble work as practicing physicians; but when men
ask a lady physician to give them examinations and treatments which