Why and When to Modify Our Practice Patterns — What Now?
Increasing the speed of adaptation
A number of recent CORRelations posts such as “Redefining ‘Unstable’ Ankle Fractures in a Helpful Way” and “Rethinking ORIF of the Scaphoid” got me thinking. Why are we so slow to modify our practice patterns?
There’s good research all around us; I understand we’re busy. But CORRelations does a nice job screening, curating, and providing insights about the discoveries we can count on (as well as some to watch out for!). Despite convincing, practical discoveries, many of my friends and colleagues continue to do the same things that they learned in training. Why?
We all have our patients’ interests at heart; this isn’t about laziness or not caring. And it’s true that we’re incentivized to operate more than to observe or engage in watchful waiting. (And we all enjoy the activity of doing surgery.) Still, we have to do better. We’ve got good answers to problems that previously were unsolved. Each of us has to push ourselves to keep up with the science.
Here's what I do:
