Cover of the 1945 Digest Magazine.

1945

University of Otago Medical Library - NZ Colln Jnls, D

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Medical Students

The cover of the 1945 edition of the Medical School magazine, Digest. The image juxtaposes a soldier with a gun and a surgeon with a scalpel, both held at the same angle. Medical students were exempt from conscription during World War II. Due to a shortage in trained medical personnel, the government recommended that the students complete their degrees. Although some still chose to enlist, the cover design suggests that those continuing with their studies were not shirking their duty. Medical training was seen as an essential part of the war effort.

Otago University Medical Students

NZ Colln Jnls, Digest, v. 2, no. 6, Oct 1945, cover.