Re: Bye bye Blues
From: Garry E. Siegel, M.D. (garrys@mindspring.com)
Sat Jul 13 22:19:31 2002
Mark:
If you are serious, and I believe that you are, that is admirable. I
wish that I could better balance my life to be the scholar you are.
If I got the h-ll off of the computer for an hour a day, I probably
could do it :).
Garry
At Sat, 13 Jul 2002, mark decker wrote:
>
>i love reviewing literature..
>
>i have to go over the acog compendium and precis at least 2 times a year
>and i review the green journal each month - and i keep track of the
>articles that impact on my practice and review them.
>
>i also use ovid - medline and download and read articles from that
>source. 200 in the last 2 years. i do specific office question reviews -
>i review trend in vbac breech episiotomies etc. any "question" i have..
>
>it is FUN and STIMULATING - keeping up and learning new science that helps
>me in my office and surgical practice really is a blast - it turms me on
>and is its own reward.
>
>several times a week or at least several times a month i do something
>better - make a dx quicker - find the right solution quicker and miss less
>because i read .
>
>i memorized the 2000 and 2001 compendiums 6 times for written boards - so i
>tripled my usual review. and i picked up something "new" each time that
>sticks in my head longer each time and i get to use that more frequently in
>my day to day practice more often because of reviewing it so much.
>
>hell, i have an iq in the mid 130s they tell me but there is too much to
>keep in my waking brain so review always helps - and it gets easier each
>time i go through it.
>
>i keep the compenduium in the back of my car to read at lunch time - when i
>get lunch - i try to make a habit of it. i also read it when i am stuck in
>l and d. and i try to read every weekend - it goes fast because it is review.
>
>i am not trying to be holier than thou - it was a chore at first to get
>started but it is so easy now and easy to keep with it - and it has its
>rewards.
>
>it gets me more patients too - can't tell you how many positive comments -
>and family members and co workers i get for patients from people who tell
>me they were glad i could reference current science - current protocols -
>they like it when "we" keep up and can demonstrate we actually think
>through the science.
>
>it really is fun - it makes life more interesting in the office instead of
>the same ol stuff <i learned in residency 15 years ago or so>..
>
>tough to get into the habit but well worth it-
>
>hell i even downloaded and studied bob wooley's EXCELLENT articles on
>episiotomy after he totally pissed me off on tb protocols for anyone around
>long enough to remember that exchange ..
>he did some very detailed work to compile the evidence on epis and thought
>it through very deeply - a lotta effort and a high quality set of articles bob.
>
>anyway - it is fun to keep learning.
>
>i pick up a lot of vwf with the ristocetin cofactor thanks to lit from last
>winter - it is helping menorrhagia pts with life long histories and makes
>me more aware for surgical risks - i am doing a hyst next week on a pt i
>screened with life long hx of menorrhagia that has severe pain issues -
>will use ddavp - i would have missed that a couple years ago if i quit
>reading after residency..
>
>and i use the thrombophilia lit - expert review from feb 2002 green journal
>and related lit from the last year or two to pick up a lot of previously
>unexplained severe iugr and pih pts from past deliveries of mine and i can
>now offer them hep and baby asa and a reason for more optimism the next
>time around <acla and lac - pts from before>
>
>hell - i had a severe iugr on a gdm mom delivery 3 months ago - unexplained
>class 3 head bleed - delivered by cesarean - mom mthfr positive hx...had
>peds check the kid - homozygous for mthfr - explains the placental infarcts
>etc - i haven't seen any lit that says check the kids blood but it makes
>sense to me to check kids in these dramatic situations - you get to test
>mom and dad and the effect on this delivery in question that way.
>
>too winded - sorry
>
>anyway it is fun - it helps - and good didactic interchange keeps us all
>current and honest - makes us better at what we do
>
>mark
>
>At 07:48 PM 12/19/2001 -0600, you wrote:
>>of comprehensive gender specific internal medicine OTJ.
>> >We see many personal comments and preferences, but I noticed something quite
>> >glaring. The few times I had the time to cite the literature or data, there
>> >were rarely replies. I wonder why that is?
>> >
>>Reasons:
>>
>>We are creatures of habit.
>>It is time consuming to read and review literature regularly. those of
>>use with busy clinical practices (and I know you know what I'm taling
>>about) can barely keep up with work and life, much less journals.
>>
>>Garry
>>
>>--
>>Garry E. Siegel, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.
>>Roswell, GA
>>Private Practice
--
Garry E. Siegel, M.D.
Private Practice
Roswell, GA
