Which profession in the colonial period typically required minimal formal training?

In the colonial period, the profession of a physician often required minimal formal training compared to other professions such as lawyers, merchants, or ministers. The medical field at that time was largely based on apprenticeship and personal experience rather than extensive formal education. Many colonial physicians learned their trade by working with experienced doctors or through self-study, as medical schools did not exist in the same capacity as they do today. This lack of rigorous institutional training meant that anyone with some practical experience could potentially enact the role of a physician, leading to a wide variation in the level of skill and knowledge among practitioners.

In contrast, professions like law and ministry typically required a more substantial educational background. Lawyers often needed to study law, which involved comprehensive training and understanding of legal principles, while ministers usually underwent formal theological training in order to prepare for their religious duties and interpretations of scripture. Merchants, while they needed to possess business acumen and practical experience, were not bound by the same level of formal educational requirements as lawyers and ministers. Thus, the pathway to becoming a physician was notably less structured, resulting in a profession that could be entered with minimal formal training.