Hi Dr. Mex and Paul, I really enjoyed reading.
This is a really interesting exchange and I offer that
this is a good suggestion.
How about clinical
ev.i.de.miologist? or clinical evidemiology?
--- On Sun, 7/5/09, Dr Grant M Dex <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
From: Dr Grant M Dex <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Anna Donald - Evidology
To: [log in to unmask]
Received: Sunday, July 5, 2009, 12:35 AM
Dear All
Greetings from Nottingham!
Over coffee in the Department this past week the conversation turned to Anna
Donald and the realisation that this past Wednesday it had been five months
since her sad death. We talked about ber BMJ blog and the impact she had on
many of us and the legacy she leaves behind. (Anna Donald’s blogs see http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/category/from-the-other-side)
And the need to publish her insightful and powerful blogs as a book for all
to read.
It is also that time of year in Britain when many of us attempt to make the
most of the improvement in our weather (I struggle to call it a summer) and
invite people over for a barbecue. As a South African, any excuse to have a
"braai" is jumped at! On these occasions after discussions of the
weather and sport are exhausted, the conversation invariably turns to talking
shop and .... "so what do you do?" is soon put to me.
Responding to that question is complex and replying is often no easier to
another medical professional as to a lay person.
Well I'm a family doctor... with an expertise in Evidence-base Medicine.
Phrases such as "translating research into practice",
"information mastery" or "clinical epidemiology" are
often met with glazed expressions. "Oh, I see. ... so you're just a GP
then!" is the inevitable response. I'm delighted to be "just a
GP", but I do sometimes struggle to explain the EBM paradigm to others.
Am I alone in being so ineloquent in describing what we do? The plumbers,
cardiologists and proctologists that I know don't seem to have the same
dilemma. My psychiatrist friends do get a tad annoyed in having to constantly
remind the uninitiated that they're not psychologists, and that a comfy couch
is more likely to be found in a branch of Starbucks, than in their offices.
Returning from one such barbecue this evening, I recalled our conversation
over coffee about Anna, and her belief in the need to train a cohort of
evidologists...
Eureka! That's it! I'm an Evidologist! That's what I do. That's what I am.
One simple snappy term that encompasses twenty minutes of explanation. I can
explain that at dinner parties and BBQs. Latin videre to discern, comprehend;
evideri to appear plainly, and all that. Sounds quite impressive too ... for
a GP!
So... in Anna's memory I'm going to start calling myself an Evidologist! Let
those of us who share her vision style ourselves Evidologists. Lets formalise
our new speciality. And lets celebrate and perpetuate the legacy of an amazing
visionary and human being.
I would be pleased to hear list members' views on what they call themselves
and how they explain what they do to the uninitiated. Do you identify with
the term "Evidologist" and a new specialty of Evidology?
Or even ... Ev·i·de·mi·o·l·o·gy!
All best wishes
Grant
Evidologist – Clinical Lecturer – Community Clinical Sub-Dean
Division of Primary Care
University of Nottingham Medical School
e-mail: [log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]
and
DPhil Evidence-Based Health Care, Kellogg College
Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine
University of Oxford
Evidology
Ev·i·do·l·o·gy n.
A new medical specialty that enables medical research to be incorporated
systematically into clinical practice
[Latin videre to discern, comprehend; evideri to appear plainly]
On 5 Feb 2009, at 16:10, Paul Glasziou wrote:
> Anna Donald, a pioneer of evidence-based medicine in the UK, died this
week after a protracted struggle with breast cancer. Anna originally worked
as a physician and lecturer in epidemiology and public policy at University
College London and was a founding Clinical Editor of the British Medical
Journal's groundbreaking compendium, Clinical Evidence. A former Rhodes
Scholar, Kennedy Fellow, Caltex Scholar and Menzies Scholar, in 1999, she
co-founded Bazian - a company which could act as an independent source of
evidence provision, and which produces many evidence resources including
Evidence-Based Mental Health, and much of the material for Clinical
Evidence. She was a great ambassador for EBM and creative force within
it. She coined the term "Evidology: A new medical specialty that
enables medical research to be incorporated systematically into clinical
practice [Latin videre to discern, comprehend; evideri to appear
plainly]", and believed that we need to train a cohort of evidologists
with a deep understanding of the nature of evidence.
> Anna was a warm and wonderful person who, during treatments for cancer,
freely discussed her plight, hopes and fears on her blog on the BMJ:
recommended reading for doctors and patients alike. Anna brought a smile and
light into the lives of all those around her.
>
> --Paul Glasziou
> Director, Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine,
> Department of Primary Health Care,
> University of Oxford www.cebm.net
> ph - +44-1865-289298 fax +44-1865-289287
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