Letter to Frederick Orpen Bower from John McLean Thompson

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Letter to Frederick Orpen Bower from John McLean Thompson in which he describes his experience at Alexandria Hospital, Cosham. He was sent to the hospital to perform as a pathlogist and put under the command of a bacteriologist who , he alleges, did not relish his company and would not support him if anything went wrong. During his two week trial, he claims he performed many tasks well but there were three cases which went badly - he did not take a white cell count in time due to inexperience so was judged to have failed in an urgent matter, he did not examine a cerebo-spinal patient as required due to lack of experience and poor equipment and he made a clerical error in a report. This led to his appointment not being confirmed and his return to Glasgow, the reasons given to him being his lack of experience and training which did not make him suitable for work in a military laboratory. He alleges that the commanding officer who made this decision did so without knowledge of his experience, having never visited the laboratory during his trial, and on the word of his superior alone who was predisposed against him. He believes that the report which went to the War Office was therefore unjust and is writing to acquaint Bower with the full facts of the situation so that the Royal Society, who had sponsored him, could be kept informed. Sir Robert Muir has informed him that he too thinks his treatment was unjust and that he has not been the only person to be treated that way

• Appointment to Office
• Bacteriology
• Civil-Military Relations
• Employees, Dismissal
• Employment
• Hospital Laboratories
• Leucocytes
• Medical Sciences
• Military Services, Medical Care
• Pathology
• Unfair Dismissal

• Bower | Frederick Orpen | 1855-1948 | regius professor of botany, University of Glasgow
• Muir | Sir | Robert | 1864-1959 | professor of pathology, University of Glasgow
• Thompson | John McLean | 1887-1977 | professor of botany, University of Liverpool

• Queen Alexandria Hospital | hospital | Portsmouth (England)
• Royal Society | c1645-: | scientific society | London (England)

• Portsmouth (England)