tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519234397783312626.post1710810425515780647..comments2023-10-09T11:42:57.305-04:00Comments on Healthcare, etc.: Cutting for evidenceMarya Zilberberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080475886113209344noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4519234397783312626.post-85119107484947163732010-11-03T04:41:42.475-04:002010-11-03T04:41:42.475-04:00Awesome. I get jealous when I hear about North Am...Awesome. I get jealous when I hear about North American conferences like this. The buffet in Australia is very spartan for adult physicians, let alone paediatricians. Technology and the changes in consultation models you describe sure are undermining the value and performance of the physical exam and the human connection. A great blessing in paediatrics is that we largely remain generalists by necessity (a child changes what sort of patient they are in a few brief years so super-sub-specialist less often subsume the generalist), and also that high-tech investigations are less helpful in providing information and often unattractive, being invasive or carrying risks, so that clinical skills remain rewarding.<br /><br />For example a scenario I like to put to students is a neurological presentation (eg. first unprovoked seizure) and the question of whether an MRI brain should be done (requiring general anaesthetic). Which is more complex and informative, the fine detail of an MRI or observing a child in the consult room pick up a pencil, draw a person then say 'Mummy this pencil is broken', at age appropriate level?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com