Medicine: Preserving the Passion

In Medicine: Preserving the Passion, Phil R. Manning, a pioneer and recognized authority in continuing medical education, and Lois DeBakey, a passionate advocate of critical reasoning and leading scholar in scientific communication, endeavor to shift the focus in lifelong learning from group exercises in a lecture hall to self-directed, practice-related activities. Al­ though most experts have applauded this new concept, few publications have addressed methods for implementation. The Manning-DeBakey book describes such methods as devised by outstanding clinicians and acade­ micians to obtain educational benefit from their clinical experience. Some techniques inspired by quality assurance, for example, these master cli­ nicians have used successfully to improve their knowledge, skills, and patient care. This book not only identifies the primary concerns in con­ tinuing medical education, but also offers sound recommendations and effective solutions and suggests future directions and approaches. The authors have analyzed the continuing educational practices of phy­ sicians in a wide range of environments, from small communities to the most acclaimed medical centers, and have extracted additional advice from the writings of past authorities like Osler. The resulting concepts will un­ doubtedly attract wide public attention. Office practice audit, self-directed learning, case indexing, patient education, computer-assisted education, and collegial networks, as well as regular reading, writing, and teaching, are among the successful methods described by physicians and surgeons who exemplify the highest standards of medical practice.