Poems in the Information Jungle - How Do Physicians Survive?

Abstract

The days when newly graduated doctors were well equipped with the knowledge and information they would need during a lifetime are long since gone. Today’s clinicians’ knowledge becomes almost as rapidly outdated as the analysts’ forecasts on the stock market. Tsunamis of new articles reporting scientific achievements flood the shorelines of current knowledge. Modern physicians need to be lifelong learners in order to adapt to the rapidly evolving medical environment. But how can physicians survive in the information jungle? What are the tools they need to weave a fabric of best medical practice that is woven from the relevant scientific knowledge and the detailed information about the patients’ preferences? Are medical schools and the postgraduate educational systems preparing doctors for this?