I hear this a lot from young and mid-career physicians in the face of new information, “But I was trained to...” 'I was trained’ suggests knowledge and standards are static. The way things were done is the way things are done. It fuels the myth that our mentors could do no wrong and they knew everything. 'I was trained’ is a dangerous way to think. It closes us ... Continue Reading about The Danger of What Doctors Were Trained to Do
Medical Progress at the Speed of Now
In the span of any individual physician’s lifetime, medicine has been a relatively static field. Things changed so slowly that physicians had one consistent reality throughout most of our career. Medical progress was marked by generations. What we did in medical school resembled what we did on the day we retired. There was one model to guide where we went and what we ... Continue Reading about Medical Progress at the Speed of Now
Technology Challenges for Young Physicians
During a recent interview a reporter asked me to discuss the technology challenges faced by young physicians. I was tempted to mention EHRs. The problem is that a technology challenge identified through my lens may not represent a challenge to a younger generation. Mid-career physicians see change from within the constraints of their own 20th century ... Continue Reading about Technology Challenges for Young Physicians
Doctors as an Endangered Species | Quick Thoughts on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of the Physician
Dr. Clay Johnston, Dean of the UT Dell Medical School recently riffed on artificial intelligence and doctors as an endangered species. It plays on our insecurities over artificial intelligence while recognizing that technology could be the very thing that saves us. A few rapid fire thoughts on some of his points. Artificial intelligence as our asteroid ... Continue Reading about Doctors as an Endangered Species | Quick Thoughts on Artificial Intelligence and the Future of the Physician
Health SXSW 2018 | The 33 charts Super Guide
Headed to SXSW 2018? I've done the heavy lifting by curating a super list of the best health care talks and events at SXSW interactive. Think of it as the ultimate guide for the health care power user. If you’ve not done Health SXSW you’re in for a treat. SXSW is the original anti-disciplinary conference. It brings together minds and ideas in ways that no other ... Continue Reading about Health SXSW 2018 | The 33 charts Super Guide
Smart Phone Sign – A Measure of Well-Being and Suitability for Discharge
Traditionally bowel sounds and the ability to pass urine were signs of postoperative progress. Now there’s the smart phone sign. Researchers in this month’s Journal of Hospital Medicine studied 221 postoperative patients. They wanted to know if a patient’s use of a smartphone during the initial clinical assessment by a surgeon could be used as a marker for well-being ... Continue Reading about Smart Phone Sign – A Measure of Well-Being and Suitability for Discharge