This Huffington Post on worms is interesting.  Even if you’re not into parasites, it’s worth thinking about.  Written by Baylor College of Medicine’s Peter Hotez, it showcases how physicians can and should translate what they know for general consumption.

As the founder of one of the country’s most prestigious schools of tropical medicine, Dr. Hotez is passionate about neglected tropical diseases. His post makes a clean, approachable case for thinking about worms.  You can see that there are a lot of reasons why this subject needs general attention.

This seems like something we all should be doing in our respective fields.

But many doctors can’t figure out why they would ever need to part of the public dialog.  Others who understand why can’t figure out how.  And there are those who know how but belly ache about their lack of time.  The reasons for remaining quietly sequestered within our academic departments and community clinics are too numerous to count.

Dr. Hotez stands as a brilliant example of a tireless content creator who sees public communication not only as a path to bigger things but as an obligation to those we serve.

Follow him, read him on PLOS, and study his stuff.  If not to understand  3rd world diseases, to understand how we should carry ourselves beyond the confines of our clinical silos.