I have been thinking about concept of the wicked problem and how it could explain our debate and deep division over COVID’s public health management. What’s a wicked problem? Proposed by University of California professors W.J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber in a 1973 article in Policy Sciences journal, a wicked problem describes a problem that is difficult ... Continue Reading about Why We Can’t See COVID as a Wicked Problem
Medical Signs
Medicine is a dicipline of uncertainty. So clinicians are always looking for indicators of certainty. We’re looking for signs. Medical signs. The psoas sign indicates an inflamed retrocecal appendix. A sentinel node is a classic sign of dissemination of cancer into the chest. The Cheeto finger sign (telltale orange fingers reflecting the recent consumption ... Continue Reading about Medical Signs
The Zone of Medical Uncertainty
Daniel Crook, @EMSafe dropped this in twitter a couple of weeks back: I realise that I have had to learn and do medicine in 7 different ways: What the book says What we actually do What the course says What the College/exam wants What the boss wants What the evidence says What other people will do who don't know the evidence I’ll add this ... Continue Reading about The Zone of Medical Uncertainty