Surgical Practice and Honorary Control at Bendigo Hospital 1892-98.

An examination of surgical operations performed at Bendigo Gold District General Hospital in the 1890s offers an insight into the medical administration of a large, regional, charitable hospital as colonial doctors strove for professional status and livelihood. Hospital records reveal a dramatic rise in surgery as honorary doctors gained medical control of the hospital in a trial begun in 1892 and abandoned six years later. The paper discusses the possible reasons for the rise in surgery, primarily by the honorary medical staff, and the criticisms levelled at trial's end. In a period of profound change in medicine, Bendigo Hospital's honorary trial--conducted in the midst of its long-standing reluctance to adopt a system of medical management in widespread use elsewhere--demonstrates the impact of doctors' interests as they sought to work the charitable hospital to their professional advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]