Colonial Health Care Learning about
at The Conococheague Institute OUT AND ABOUT
The Doctor Dismissing Death by Peter Simon. Erica Allen
written by MATTHEW WEDD EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THE CONOCOCHEAGUE INSTITUTE MERCERSBURG, PA. With a health and wellness theme for this issue of At Home Places, how could we resist writing about health and medicine in colonial America? As a site that interprets the daily life of the frontier in the 18th century and that hosts a premier antique medical collection and educational program, we have the perfect tonic (of knowledge) to share with you. So, grab your leech jar, hold onto your humours and let’s get the laudable pus flowing! In 18th-century America, just like today, health care was
practiced by a variety of professionals: doctors, surgeons, nurses, apothecaries, amateurs, fakes (quacks) and home practitioners (primarily women). Unlike today, the majority of health-care practitioners were not what we would call professional. Of the roughly 3,500 active ones prior to the American Revolution, only 5% received formal medical training at universities. Another 5% had some training, such as graduates of an arts college who read some medical literature and acquired some practical experience. Most practitioners were apprentices who trained for three to six years and read what was available, learning by example and practice. A smaller number of practitioners were educated and in a position of authority – magistrate, planter or military officer – who read a medical book. These were the self-taught “Google” doctors of the 18th century. Home practitioners Despite the availability of this array of practitioners, most health care was self- or family-administered. Knowledge of medication came from family herbal lore, patent medicines,
