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medical women on furlough, during which timeprivate practice is allowed. They are then definitelyappointed to the charge of hospitals. Private prac-tice is always allowed after the first two years, pro-vided it does not interfere with official duties. Theonly exception is in administrative or educationalposts, when an allowance in lieu of practice is given.The amount obtained from practice varies accordingto’the station, but in most cases it forms a fair additionto the salary, varying from ;6150 to 21000 a year.

Excellent opportunities for surgery-especiallygynaecological—are found in the Women’s MedicalService. To those who are not keen surgeons oppor-tunities are likely to open in the future in connexionwith maternity and child welfare ; medical womenwith administrative ability are also needed for theinspection of women’s hospitals and other medicalinstitutions.

Rates of pay are as follows :—

* At rupee value Is. 4d.

The above rates of pay are not so high as those ofthe Indian Medical Service. The fact, however, thatfurnished quarters are provided (these are not providedin the Indian Medical Service) represents an addi-tional Rs.150 per mensem. Moreover, the officialduties of the members of the W.M.S. are lighter thanthose of the I.M.S.The cost of living in India is much higher than

formerly, but it should be possible for a medicalwoman (with house provided) to meet actual householdexpenses for about Rs.200 per mensem, leaving theremainder of her salary for dress and personal expenses.To this must be added the necessary saving to meetadditional expense for furlough and leave spent in I’the hills.One month’s privilege leave on full pay is granted

Ieach year. Furlough on half-pay at the rate of two Imonths for every year of service is granted after every I’three years. Study-leave on two-thirds pay is granted Ito the extent of 12 months in the total service. Thereis a provident fund to which members of the servicecontribute 10 per cent. of their pay. The servicecontributes another 10 per cent. which accumulates atinterest and is repaid on retirement.Admission to the service is made by selection. Can-

didates in the United Kingdom should apply to theHon. Secretary, United Kingdom Branch of theCountess of Dufferin’s Fund, care of Sir HavelockCharles, India Office, Whitehall, London.

AIR FORCE MEDICAL SERVICE.

THE Royal Air Force Medical Service offers a

career for medical men which should prove bothattractive and interesting. The rates of pay andallowances are good, and a new field of scientificinterest is opened up by the manifold problems whichthe circumstances of aviation produce. The physicaland mental fitness for, and reaction to, the variedconditions under which the flying personnel performtheir functions provide much scope for research. As

promotion to the higher ranks of the Service is to beentirely by selection, and as a certain proportion ofthe higher ranks will be reserved for purely scientific,as opposed to administrative, appointments, it will beseen that there are excellent prospects for the youngmedical officer who exhibits ability and energy inscientific research, as well as for those who develop atalent for administration.The establishment will consist partly of permanent I

and partly of short-service officers. Short-service f

officers will be admitted by direct entry for a periodof two years, which may be extended to four yearsat the discretion of the Air Council on recommendationof the Director of Medical Services. Those who arenot selected for permanent commissions will pass intothe Royal Air Force Medical Reserve at the expirationof their period of service on the active list, and willthen receive the gratuity to which their service entitlesthem.

Short-service officers who are approved for per-manent commissions, but for whom there are notvacancies in the Royal Air Force Medical Service,may, under certain conditions, transfer to the RoyalArmy Medical Corps, counting their time served inthe Royal Air Force towards increments of pay andretired pay in the Royal Army Medical Corps.

Officers who have been selected for permanentcommissions will be granted leave for a period notexceeding nine months for post-graduate study ingeneral medicine and surgery, tropical and preventivemedicine, and other special subjects. Such leavewill be granted during the first six years of permanentservice, and during such leave officers will remain onfull pay and allowances.New entrants into the Royal Air Force Medical

Service will be commissioned as Flying Officers(Medical) and will be eligible for promotion to therank of Flight Lieutenant (Medical) after two years’service. Officers selected for permanent commissionswill be promoted to the rank of Squadron Leaderafter 10 years’ total service. Accelerated promotionmay be carried out, in a limited number of cases,of officers who show exceptional ability after the com-pletion of eight years’ service. Promotion to therank of Wing Commander will be by selection at anyperiod after 16 years’ total service, and to that ofGroup Captain by selection at any period after22 years’ service.

There will be no competitive examination on entry ;candidates must be under 28 years of age, be nominatedby the Dean of a recognised medical school or teachinghospital, and will be interviewed personally by theDirector of Medical Services, Royal Air Force, beforeacceptance. Each candidate must produce-

1. Birth certificate.2. Medical registration certificate.3. A declaration containing the following informa-

tion :-I (a) Age and place of birth.

(b) That he is of pure European descent, and the son ofa subject of the British Empire.

(c) That he labours under no constitutional or mentaldisease or disability which may interfere with the effièientdischarge of the duties of a medical officer in any climatein peace or war. (All candidates will be required to pass amedical examination as to their physical fitness beforeacceptance to ensure that they fulfil the standard laid downin this declaration.)

(d) That he is ready to engage for general service at homeor abroad as required.

(e) The qualifications he is possessed of, and what medicalor other appointments he has held (if any).

(f) That he is willing to fly whenever called upon to do so,and to qualify in such aviation tests as may be required.

If the applicant is in possession of a certificate oftraining in an Officers’ Training Corps this should besubmitted.An applicant who at the time of application holds,

or is about to hold, a resident appointment in a recog-nised civil hospital may be seconded for the periodnot exceeding one year, during which he holds suchappointment. Whilst seconded he will not receivepay from Air Council funds, but his seniority willcount from the day on which he is seconded to thecivil hospital.

Uniform and Equipment.Medical officers will be required to provide them-

selves with the uniform of their rank and with thedistinguishing badges of the Royal Air Force MedicalService. They will be required to provide themselveswith service dress and mess dress. The provision offull dress is entirely optional.An outfit allowance of 250 will be granted to officers

if they have had no previous commissioned service.

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If they have had previous commissioned service inthe Royal Navy, the Army, or the Royal Marines,but not in the Royal Air Force, they will receivean outfit allowance of 225.

Officers on entry are required to provide themselveswith the regulation pocket case of instruments.

RATES OF PAY AND RETIRED PAY. IThe rates of pay are as given below :- I

The scale of retired pay for Group Captains andlower ranks is given below :-

* Limited to five years.

Group Captains retire at 55; maximum retired pay .8900.Wing Commanders retire at 51; maximum retired pay .8600.Squadron Leaders retire at 48 ; maximum retired pay .8500.

There will be a minimum qualifying period forretired pay of 20 years.

Gratuities.Short-service officers will receive gratuities at the

rate of 2100 for each of the first two completed yearsof service, and at the rate of 150 for the third andfourth completed year. (If granted permanent com-missions these gratuities will not be payable, but theperiod of service under the short-service commissionwill count for retired pay.)

Medical officers holding permanent commissionsmay, at the discretion of the Air Council, be allowedto withdraw from the Service after ten years’ servicewith a gratuity of .81250 or after 16 years with agratuity of 22000 in lieu of retired pay.

A.llowances.The usual allowances will be payable to medical

officers under the same conditions as to officers ofother branches of the Royal Air Force.The dental service of the Royal Air Force is a part Iof the Army Dental Corps (see p. 419).

COLONIAL MEDICAL SERVICE.

IN the self-governing dominions, Canada, Australia,New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, and New-foundland, and territories under their control, such asPapua and the Cook Islands, medical appointmentsare made concerning which information can be obtainedfrom the High Commissioners or Agents-General inLondon ; appointments in Egypt and the Soudan areregulated from the Foreign Office ; in Rhodesia theappointments are made by the British South AfricaCompany, London Wall Buildings, E.C. ; in NorthBorneo application should be made to the BritishNorth Borneo Company, 37, Threadneedle-street,E.C., for appointments ; and those in Sarawak are inthe hands of H.H. the Rajah.As a general rule, each Colony or Protectorate has

its own public service distinct from that of everyother; and it is usually only the higher officers whoare transferred by the Secretary of State from oneColony to another. There are two exceptions tothis rule: (a) The West African Medical Staff, whichserves Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and theGambia, is one service. (b) In practice the medicalservices of the Straits Settlements and the MalayStates may be regarded as one, as the officers may beand frequently are transferred from the Colony to theStates or vice versa.The Colonies, Protectorates, and Mandated Terri-

I tories to which medical officers are appointed by theSecretary of State for the Colonies are (a) the WestAfrican-viz., Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone,and the Gambia; (b) the East African-viz., theKenya Colony and Protectorate, the Uganda, Nyasa-land, Somaliland, and Zanzibar Protectorates, andthe Tanganyika Territory; (e) the Eastern-viz.,Ceylon, the Straits Settlements and Malay States,Hong Kong, Mauritius, and Seychelles ; (d) the WestIndian-viz., British Guiana, Jamaica, Trinidad, theWindward Islands, the Leeward Islands, Barbados,British Honduras, and the Bahamas ; (e) Fiji and theWester Pacific, Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar, St. Helena,Bermuda, and the Falkland Islands ; and (f) Palestine.

In Ceylon, Mauritius, Jamaica, Barbados, theBahamas, and Bermuda vacancies are practicallyalways filled locally by the appointment of qualifiednative candidates, or-in the case of some of thehigher posts-by transfer from other Colonies.Appointments in Malta are all filled locally. Vacanciesoccur most regularly and frequently in the WestAfrican Medical Staff, the East African MedicalService, and the Straits Settlements and MalayStates.

All applicants for medical appointments in the giftof the Secretary of State for the Colonies should bebetween the ages of 23 and 35,1 and must be doublyqualified ; preference will be given to those who haveheld hospital appointments as house physicians andhouse surgeons ; testimonials to character and pro-fessional competence will be required, and everyofficer before being definitely appointed will bemedically examined by one of the consulting physi-cians of the Colonial Office : Sir J. Rose Bradford,8, Manchester-square, London, W. 1 ; Sir J. HawtreyBenson, 57, Fitzwilliam-square, Dublin ; Lieut.-Colonel J. Arnott, I.M.S., 8, Rothesay-place, Edin-burgh ; and Dr. R. H. Kennan, 2, St. James’s-road,Liverpool. Applications for such appointments mustbe addressed to the Assistant Private Secretary(Appointments), Colonial Office, Downing-street,S.W. 1.

EAST AFRICAN MEDICAL SERVICES.Medical officers in the Kenya Colony and Pro-

tectorate and the Uganda, Nyasaland, Somaliland,and Zanzibar Protectorates, and the Tanganyika

1 In the case of East Africa, preference will be given to candi-dates who are over 25 years of age. In the case of Fiji and theWestern Pacific, preference will be given to candidates who areunder 30. At the present time, however, no definite age-limitsare insisted on ; but officers over the age of 35 must be preparedto serve, if required, on a temporary and non-pensionable footing.