'The question of ce-education in. medical schools in England is one which has been occupying the attention of the Medical Women'
Federation since the recent pronouncement in the press that certain schools had agreed to close their doors in future to women students. In the correspondence which followed statements were made in regard to the so-called wastage" among qualified medical women, and the figure of "50 per Jcent, or thereabouts" was given as the proportion of those who marry and presumably thereafter cease from working at their profession.
Investigations were at once undertaken by the Medical Women's Federation of England to prove the truth or otherwise of these statements. A questionnaire was sent to the 1,000 members of the Federation living in the British Isles. The point of interest which emerges is the small percentage of those who have retired from their profession, especially as the figure includes number who only retired after many years of active and successfal medical practice: General practice, 40.6 per cent.; hospital or institutional work, 12.7 per cent.; consulting and specialist, 14 per cent.; research, 3.6 per cent.; pub-Vie health, 15.6 per cent.; retired, 9 per cent.; not ascertained, 4.5 per cent.
Steps were also taken to ascertain details regarding the women who had qualified at six London hospitals. From the following figures it will be seen that, instead of the "30 per cent. or thereabouts" stated to marry and so become lost to the profession, the actual number is tunder 10 per cent.
'The number of women qualified from the Royal Free Hospital (for the years 1923, 1924, and 1925), and from Charing' Cross Hospital, the London Hospital, St. George's Hospital, St. Mary's Hospital, and College Hospital is understood to be 644. The following is fan analysis of these: Doing active medical work, 70.9 per cent.; read. ing for higher qualification, 1.09 per cent.; travelling abroad, 93 per' cent.; temporarily unemployed at. time of inquiry, 6.21 per cent. valid,.15 per cent.; died,.77 per cent.; not traced, 466 per cent.; retired, 9.78 per cent.
The percentage of those who have married is 15.99 per cent., namely: Married and still working, 6.26 per cent.; married and retired, 9.63 per cent.
Ata recent session of the Council of the Medical Women's Federation, resolution in the following terns was unanimously passed:
"That this Council of the Medical Women's Federation, while welcoming the public support has been generously accorded the efforts to retain the presence of women in ce-educational schools, deprecates any attempt to put pressure on the hospitals concerned by subseibers to withdraw their tions."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.