Doctor at work.

TO BE elected President of this august Society is a very great honour. However it also carries certain responsibilities and duties. The first hurdle and probably the most daunting is the presentation of a presidential address. On examining the list of presidents who have held office since I first became a member of the Ulster Medical Society thirty-one years ago I discovered, as I anticipated, that they represented the main branches of our profession. There were nine surgeons, six physicians, six general practitioners, four obstetricians, three pathologists, two medical administrators and one medically qualified dentist. On reading through their presidential addresses I found that thirteen had dealt with historical subjects, seventeen had a medical subject matter of which the orator had special knowledge, and one enterprising general practitioner entertained his audience by having an evening of Gilbert and Sullivan opera during which he sang. I assure you I do not intend to sing, but instead I will talk about one of the smaller branches of the tree of medical knowledge. Though basically a general practitioner I spend a large proportion of my working week providing medical services for industrial organisations, and therefore my talk tonight is on some aspects of the practice of Occupational Medicine, hence the title "Doctor at Work".