When I think about Medicine, and the practice of medical care, it is a whirlwind of information. There have been so many medical advances over the years and healthcare has came a long way in a short period of time. It is hard to believe that the things we do not put much thought into today because it is the way "it is supposed to be done", such as wearing gloves when making contact with patients and their bodily fluids, were not even thought about in the days of the American Revolution. Wearing gloves is not the only safety precaution that has been discovered. There are hundreds of thousands of procedures that are followed today that were not even a thought back then, such as properly performing an extremity amputation. Medical care in the Revolution time period is not the least bit comparable to today's medical care in my opinion. Granted, the medical care that is currently available is much more complex, people have a greater understanding of why it is appropriate to receive proper care as well as maintaining hygiene. The article titled "Establishment of the Medical Department of the Army" tells that ignorance along with carelessness, and lack of discipline as well as lack of interest were among the main reasons proper healthcare was unsuccessful during this time period. Knowing what I currently know about how healthcare works and why it is important, I would not be the least bit confident in ANY doctor during the American Revolution. But lets say that I was that wounded Continental Soldier living during the Revolution and had no idea about the many medical advances that would occur over the years. I would then feel pretty confident in the doctors. I would not care if I was hurt for one of them to try and help make me better simply because to be a doctor in this time period, you more than likely had the knowledge that was needed, even if you did not have access to all of the materials that you may have needed. These doctors knew what they needed to do, and figured out how to work with the materials they