THE PRESIDENT'S PAGE
WARREN W. QUILLIAN M.D.
IT IS axiomatic to say that recent achievements in medical science have greatly improved the quality of medical care. One of the fields of study, constituting an important area of activity in which progress can be cited, is the care of the prematurely born infant. Not only has there been general utilization of new drugs and equipment, but a better knowledge and application of methods employed in reduction of the hazards confronted by the infant during this critical age period. Perhaps the most important single factor destined to influence favorably the morbidity and mortality statistics of prematures is the proper training of professional personnel assigned to their care.
During recent years many changes have developed both in the character and the content of medical education. There is little value in planning for more and better health services unless consideration is first given to providing well-trained physicians to render those services. Assumption of responsibility, with the application of fundamental principles to specific cases, is the foundation of good medical judgment. The service rendered in their local communities by practicing physicians can be only so good as the training, skills and abilities of the individuals who give it. An encouraging trend since World War II has been the very widespread effort on the part of pediatricians to avail themselves of additional training in medical centers, to acquire there the skills and modern methods so necessary for utilization in their own practice. There is general recognition of the principle that better preparation for the care of sick children and the health supervision of well children will necessarily be reflected in improved standards of practice—a step along the way toward our Academy goal of better health for more children.
