DB'S MEDICAL RANTS

Internal medicine, American health care, and especially medical education

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Made to stick

Just finished reading this book (see previous post on a review of the book). These quotes grabbed my attention:

People are tempted to tell you everything, with perfect accuracy right up front, when they should be giving you just enough info to be useful, then a little more, then a little more.

Exactly my complaint about the first two years of medical school. We should teach in layers. Make certain that the students understand basic science 101 before we work on 201.

Mysteries are powerful, Cialdini says because they create a need for closure. “You’ve heard of the famous Aha! experience, right?” he says. “Well, the Aha! experience is much more satisfying when it is preceded by the Huh? experience.”

We learn best when we try to solve the mystery along with the teacher. This is when case teaching works so much better than lectures.

It’s easy for a doctor to treat appendicitis once it’s been diagnosed, but the problem is learning to distinguish an inflamed appendix from an upset stomach or food poisoning or an ulcer. Or think about beginning algebra students, who can solve complex equations but grind to a halt when they’re presented with a simple word problem that involves exactly the same math. Problem X doesn’t always identify itself as Problem X.

And no P4P model values this skill, which readers know that I believe is the defining skill of a great physician.

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