Physicians must strive to keep up to date

Today, it is estimated that medical knowledge is doubling more than once a year, making it more critical than ever that physicians prioritize learning, despite the hectic pace of practice. Complacency threatens to create an intellectual wasteland in the medical profession, with patients suffering because of flawed or out-of-date diagnostic or treatment options. Lifelong learning after residency has to be a necessity.

I practice electrodiagnostic medicine in Northwest Louisiana. When I completed my first medical residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans, in the 1990s, testing the blood flow inside nerves to help diagnose the cause of nerve and muscle pain was just beginning to garner attention. Medical knowledge was changing slowly in those days – only doubling at a rate of approximately 50 years.

Today, staying current in the evergrowing field of medical knowledge is a physician’s commitment to his or her patients. Managing the hectic pace of practice can make keeping up challenging, but physicians owe it to their patients to know what’s happening.

Sir William Osler, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, often referred to as the “Father of Modern Medicine,” said, “If the license to practice meant the completion of his education, how sad it would be for the medical practitioner, how distressing to his patients! The physician should illustrate the truth of Plato’s saying that education is a life-long process.”

One of the best ways a physician can keep up to date is by teaching other physicians and medical staff what they need to know to be skilled and knowledgeable. I teach at the Baylor College of Medicine: Department of Neurology, University of Houston, Texas. This requires me to keep current with the latest in electrodiagnostic medicine and to know the practice backward and forwards. When you are responsible for patients as well as responsible for the next generation of physicians, you are pushed to practice the best medicine you can. The benefits of my position at Baylor transfer directly to my patients by keeping me engaged with the ever-changing state of medical knowledge as well as giving me a unique commitment and energy to use the latest knowledge and expertise to quickly return patients to a pain-free life.

It is also important for today’s physicians to retain a sense of curiosity, even about what seems ordinary and everyday in our respective fields.

Without curiosity, we tend to stick with diagnostic and treatment methods that could be flawed or out of date. We also have to be discerning and willing to weed through the ever-expanding mountain of research, clinical trials and health claims to determine which will stand the test of time. We have to make learning a lifestyle – a habit of keeping up that we incorporate into our daily lives.

In today’s climate of fast-changing medical knowledge, keeping up with the latest information and procedures is just part of a physician’s commitment to the patient to give the best care possible. It can be tempting to stick with diagnoses and treatments that are familiar and to overlook research that conflicts with the existing knowledge. This complacency threatens the advancement of health care and the health of a generation. Make sure that your physician is making the practice of keeping current with medical knowledge a life-long process.

Dr. Wheat is a graduate of Louisiana State University Medical School, Shreveport. He earned a residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans. In 1997, Dr. Wheat completed an internal medicine residency at Louisiana State University Medical Center, Shreveport, and then earned a board certification in electrodiagnostic medicine. His Shreveport office is located at 385 West Bert Kouns Industrial Loop, Suite 500, and his Natchitoches office is located at 138 East 5th Street. To find out more about his practice and how he can help find the source of your pain, go to www.wheatmedical.com or call 318-352-4477.