Originally Posted by gingernut
got it one!
Like all Young Chaps With An Idea (and it's not a new one), Gingernut seizes only on the bit that he agrees with. He happily disregards the very real caveats that I tried to voice - a pity, but so it goes....
Originally Posted by Loose rivets
I have asked before, if there is not a case for doctors to specialize at an earlier stage than they do now. In this modern world there must be an order of magnitude more detail to take on board -- if they are to cover the full spectrum. This has to be counter-productive.
This has been happening for quite a while already. The Blair solution to perceived problem of not enough Consultants has been to pressurise the GMC and Royal Colleges into just this. Surgical training in the UK is now a real mess, complicated by the EU directives on working hours, and Consultants are now appointed far younger and with far less experience of their subject than ever before. Couple this with the amount of administrative work that is now required (despite the proliferation of professional administrators) and you have a result that is less than happy. Gingernut's solution is to train up nurses and paramedics to perform subsets of more narrowly divided tasks, like the Chest Diagnostician or the Knee Operator. This frees the Consultant to engage in his primary function in the Blair world, of sitting on endless committees, engaging in endless paperwork and participating in the vicious and Byzantine world of NHS politics.
Originally Posted by Loose rivets
I do understand the concept of co-relating symptoms: not to have a broad overview could mean missing something important. However, to try to take on board the full subject seems as though it's asking for the knowledge to be diluted. This will be even worse if the suggestion of ‘fast-tracking' is followed.
The airlines have analogous problems. With glass cockpits, increasingly realistic sims and far greater aircraft automation it is entirely possible to train pilots without them even leaving the ground. And as for fast-tracking, what about all the various direct entry schemes? Here on PPRuNe you can read lots of posts from grumpy old pilots bemoaning the loss of the ability of pilots to cope on raw data only and hand-fly aircraft. Welcome to the 21st Century.
Originally Posted by Loose rivets
In this modern world it is possible to ask, and get an answer from a specialist on the other side of the globe in a few moments...and with hi-def pictures. Why burden the mind with a sea of knowledge that may never be used?
Well, this presupposes that we function mainly in an office, have a reliable broadband connection and the leisure of time to do all this, rather than the need to make crucial decisions very fast that save lives and limbs. It also presupposes the ability to provide the guru on the other side of world with the right questions, for there's nothing more useless than having the answer to the wrong question.
"Sorry, I don't know the answer, and all the Guru's are busy answering questions from other chaps like me. I'll try again tonight. Can you come back tomorrow?"
And of course, most of the real world doesn't have either a computer, or broadband or even a telephone....
The fact is, that to be really good in your field, you have to know a LOT. Not only about your own field, but medicine generally. Learning all that and keeping up to date is VERY HARD WORK and I'm afraid that there's no getting around it.