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The importance of continuing ed
Published
9 years agoon
By Dr. Jeff Daniels EBS Medical Columnist
In most professions, the learning process is continuous from the first exam at school until you hang it up for good. In a rapidly changing world, especially in the field of medicine, continuing education is critical to being a good doctor.
Doctors learn all the time: from patients, reading journals, talking to colleagues, and even from watching television commercials for all those new and expensive drugs – I know somebody will ask me if this $600 toenail fungus treatment they’ve seen advertised is right for them.
I recently attended a continuing medical education conference hosted by the University of California – San Francisco, called “Clinical Strategies in Primary Care.” You might think I used this as an excuse to visit that wonderful city, but I’ve attended several other CME events at this university, and I I’ve learned a lot through them.
This conference consisted of 24 one-hour lectures – starting early in the morning and continuing into the evening – for three consecutive days. Here’s some of what I learned from the many lectures I attended:
I discovered that not every woman over 40 needs a mammogram every year or two, and to be wary of the pitfalls of mammography, such as over-diagnosis and over-treatment of minor, non life-threatening cancers. Also, we should be doing more CT scans for lung cancer in chronic smokers, and a condition called nonalcoholic fatty liver is the most common liver disorder in the U.S., with weight loss the only proven treatment.
I learned new approaches to deal with student athletes who sustain concussions, including putting the brain at maximum rest – this means no schoolwork, TV, or video games until symptoms improve – and why some schools are discontinuing high-risk sports, like football.
A lecture on the heart inundated us with new guidelines developed from randomly controlled trials and published in scientific, peer-reviewed journals. These guidelines mainly involve targets for cholesterol, weight, and blood pressure, and most current studies validate what doctors have been doing for many years.
For women experiencing the symptoms of menopause, a supplement called black cohosh may work better than a placebo to help alleviate hot flashes. I also learned about the best and safest approaches to hormone replacement therapy.
I discovered the latest guidelines for stroke treatment using clot-busting drugs, as well as a new stroke-prevention technique for accessing and removing blood clots through blood vessels – called endovascular therapy this is the newest approach to stroke management.
In a lecture on common infections, I learned that a bug called Fusobacterium necrophorum is just as common as strep, can cause the same symptoms, but with worse outcomes if not treated properly, such as pneumonia and even death. We don’t have an easy test for this, and it’s something to be suspicious about when the illness looks like strep but the rapid test we perform in the office is negative.
There were many more lectures, and I brought back a considerable amount of information to share with my staff and the students we teach, as well as our patients. All of this came from just three days in San Francisco.
Dr. Jeff Daniels has been practicing medicine in Big Sky since 1994, when he and his family moved here from New York City. A unique program he implements has attracted more than 700 medical students and young doctors to train with the Medical Clinic of Big Sky.
Megan Paulson is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Outlaw Partners.
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Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by GAS for ride information.
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July 15 (Monday) 6:00 pm - September 23 (Monday) 6:00 pm
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Hike Big Sky is a FREE guided hike for our community and visitors alike. A different trail will be featured each Monday at 9 a.m. Visit BSCO.org for trail description
Event Details
Hike Big Sky is a FREE guided hike for our community and visitors alike. A different trail will be featured each Monday at 9 a.m. Visit BSCO.org for trail description information. Please wear layers, bring water and snacks. Bear spray recommended.
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July 22 (Monday) 9:00 am - September 23 (Monday) 12:00 pm
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by
Event Details
Bike Big Sky is a FREE community mountain biking group with BSCO and Gallatin Alpine Sports. Meet at posted locations at 6 p.m. Monday evenings. Visit BSCO.org or swing by GAS for ride information.
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July 22 (Monday) 6:00 pm - September 30 (Monday) 6:00 pm
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Join Santosha, BASE and Gourmet Gals to bring you a donation based all levels community yoga lunch break class every Wednesday throughout the summer. It will be
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Event Details
Join Santosha, BASE and Gourmet Gals to bring you a donation based all levels community yoga lunch break class every Wednesday throughout the summer. It will be taught by a variety of teachers from Santosha and BASE. This summer all proceeds will go to Big Sky Band-Aid, aside from the first one on the 26th that is happening during Pride week- all funds donated for that class will go to Big Sky OUT. A delicious lunch will also be served by Gourmet Gals following our practice each Wednesday (included in donation). You are welcome to donate with cash at the event or you can Venmo @Santoshabigsky and make a note for Community Yoga. Hope to see you in the Park!
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July 24 (Wednesday) 12:00 pm - September 23 (Monday) 1:00 pm
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Len Hill Park