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Keeping up on medical literature is never easy. Time is limited between work and family. It’s often hard to know what to read. Most journals are a combination of research and practical information.
I’m not an academic and never will be. I have nothing against my colleagues who are, but it’s just not my personality type. I’m a happy-to-see-patients-all-day type of doctor.
I try to stick with reading things that have an immediate impact on how I practice: review articles, information about new diagnostic procedures and treatments, and news about the economics of medicine. That’s about it. If I can’t use it now or in the immediate future, it’s not relevant to my practice. My patients want to know what I can do for them today, not in 5-10 years. There’s enough to keep up on that’s relevant to current practice as it is.
Research in medicine is obviously crucial, since what we do is based on it. There is a lot of interesting and potentially game-changing research out there. But medical literature is full of small studies that show promise for something only to be shot down when larger investigations are done. It’s not practical or even good medicine to make treatment decisions based on small-scale preliminary data and anecdotal reports.
Even the oft-cited “green journal” – Neurology – isn’t on my reading list. I admit that it has its share of practical knowledge, but the last time I read it, the majority of pages were devoted to research that was promising, though not imminently applicable to patient care. That’s not for me.
Time is always at a premium in modern life. There’s no shortage of journals and interesting research to peruse, and so I try to stay with what’s practical for both me and my patients. I’ll leave the research to those who are good at it, and do my best to support the people who come to my office every day.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Keeping up on medical literature is never easy. Time is limited between work and family. It’s often hard to know what to read. Most journals are a combination of research and practical information.
I’m not an academic and never will be. I have nothing against my colleagues who are, but it’s just not my personality type. I’m a happy-to-see-patients-all-day type of doctor.
I try to stick with reading things that have an immediate impact on how I practice: review articles, information about new diagnostic procedures and treatments, and news about the economics of medicine. That’s about it. If I can’t use it now or in the immediate future, it’s not relevant to my practice. My patients want to know what I can do for them today, not in 5-10 years. There’s enough to keep up on that’s relevant to current practice as it is.
Research in medicine is obviously crucial, since what we do is based on it. There is a lot of interesting and potentially game-changing research out there. But medical literature is full of small studies that show promise for something only to be shot down when larger investigations are done. It’s not practical or even good medicine to make treatment decisions based on small-scale preliminary data and anecdotal reports.
Even the oft-cited “green journal” – Neurology – isn’t on my reading list. I admit that it has its share of practical knowledge, but the last time I read it, the majority of pages were devoted to research that was promising, though not imminently applicable to patient care. That’s not for me.
Time is always at a premium in modern life. There’s no shortage of journals and interesting research to peruse, and so I try to stay with what’s practical for both me and my patients. I’ll leave the research to those who are good at it, and do my best to support the people who come to my office every day.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Keeping up on medical literature is never easy. Time is limited between work and family. It’s often hard to know what to read. Most journals are a combination of research and practical information.
I’m not an academic and never will be. I have nothing against my colleagues who are, but it’s just not my personality type. I’m a happy-to-see-patients-all-day type of doctor.
I try to stick with reading things that have an immediate impact on how I practice: review articles, information about new diagnostic procedures and treatments, and news about the economics of medicine. That’s about it. If I can’t use it now or in the immediate future, it’s not relevant to my practice. My patients want to know what I can do for them today, not in 5-10 years. There’s enough to keep up on that’s relevant to current practice as it is.
Research in medicine is obviously crucial, since what we do is based on it. There is a lot of interesting and potentially game-changing research out there. But medical literature is full of small studies that show promise for something only to be shot down when larger investigations are done. It’s not practical or even good medicine to make treatment decisions based on small-scale preliminary data and anecdotal reports.
Even the oft-cited “green journal” – Neurology – isn’t on my reading list. I admit that it has its share of practical knowledge, but the last time I read it, the majority of pages were devoted to research that was promising, though not imminently applicable to patient care. That’s not for me.
Time is always at a premium in modern life. There’s no shortage of journals and interesting research to peruse, and so I try to stay with what’s practical for both me and my patients. I’ll leave the research to those who are good at it, and do my best to support the people who come to my office every day.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.
