On 25 July 1777 a testimonial was signed by 10 of Dublin's most prominent physicians stating that Wade should receive a 'Diploma to Practice physick' because of the 'certain proofs of [his] capacity, skill and attention in his attendance on many persons committed to his care in the medical line' or had 'reason to believe him a person of medical experience'.
Later, on 27 June 1786, he was conferred with the degree of doctor of medicine by the University of St Andrews, and in October 1786 was examined at K&QCPI and admitted as a licentiate.
[2] Aylmer Bourke Lambert in a letter to (Sir) James Edward Smith states that through Wade's exertions a grant of £300 was obtained to establish the botanic garden at Dublin, and that he intended to publish a work entitled Flora Dublinensis.
[3] Undated folio sheets of this proposed work exist, with plates, under the title Floræ Dublinensis Specimen, but it was never carried out.
This unrealised book was based on Flora Londinensis by William Curtis, and remained unpublished due to financial difficulties.
Lady Kane, in her anonymous Irish Flora (Dublin, 1833), says of this work (preface, p. vii) that it was "the first that appeared in Ireland under a systematic arrangement", and that its author "may be justly considered as the first who diffused a general taste for botany in this country".
In 1795, land was purchased at Glasnevin for the Botanic Gardens, with Wade taking up the position of professor and lecturer in botany in 1796.
Creating the original design, Wade travelled to gardens and nurseries in England to procure plants, and received many rare specimens and seeds as gifts from across Europe.
He did also note his disappointment with the neglect of the Gardens, low attendance at lectures, and the lack of interest from the Dublin Society.
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland holds letters between Wade and John Foster in the Foster–Massereene papers.