I fondly remember the first Histology class in my first year of college. Dr. Campos, so solemn and eloquent, told us that regardless of the specialty we chose, we should always remember two fundamental axioms that would serve us for the rest of our lives:
The first of all, he said, is that “the most common is always the most common.” This, which seems obvious, made a lot of sense. A generation that coincides with TV series like Dr. House, and is learning about all sorts of rare diseases and long lists of symptoms, can lose perspective in the thickness of the forest and forget that, after all, if a patient we’ve just started on an antidepressant experiences tremors, it’s most likely that these tremors are a side effect of the medication (the most common), and not Huntington’s disease (a rare hereditary genetic disorder). Could it be Huntington’s? It could, as Huntington’s can also present with tremors, but it’s much less likely (especially without a family history or other associated symptoms).
The second axiom was that “only what is known is diagnosed.” With this second self-evident statement, Dr. Campos wanted to encourage us to continue studying throughout our lives, not just to pass exams during our academic career. Staying up to date in a field like Medicine is crucial. Not doing so is not only detrimental to one’s resume but also to the patients. It’s not ethical and should not be acceptable. For example, if I don’t know what Kaiser-Fleischer rings are (brown rings that appear on the edge of the iris due to copper deposits), I will hardly be able to consider Wilson’s disease when looking at a patient’s eyes, and I will hardly request the necessary tests for diagnosis and treatment.
This principle isn’t limited to medicine but applies to many other professions as well.