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From: james@reality1.UUCP (james)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: The subject appears to be ME.
Message-ID: <57@reality1.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 26-Oct-86 22:40:29 EST
Article-I.D.: reality1.57
Posted: Sun Oct 26 22:40:29 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 27-Oct-86 06:08:38 EST
References: <525@aecom.UUCP> <2150@mtuxo.UUCP>
Reply-To: james@reality1.UUCP (james)
Distribution: na
Organization: Reality Computer Systems, Austin TX
Lines: 26

In article <2150@mtuxo.UUCP> wjc@mtuxo.UUCP (w.cambre) writes:
>Craig responded with a lengthy article defending himself (not really the AMA)
>as an MD (or is it an MD-to-be? I wish you'd let me know). One point which I
>found quite interesting is as follows:

| 	Secondly,  I and every good medical student realize that 50% of
| medical theories are wrong.  the trouble is that at any given time, we
| don't know which half.

>I don't think I've ever heard any doctor say this before.  Maybe all the one's
>I've ever known about weren't good medical students.  Do they really teach
>this to  you up there at Albert Einstein?  Just remember this when (if) you
>start practicing on the average American out here.  It would seem (especially
>in the case of Obstetric MD's in New Jersey) that there are few doctor's who
>practice as if they believed your above statement.

If you really believe someone who tells you "I know all the answers", I would
prescribe a healthy dose of skepticism.  Would you rather have a doctor who
a belief that "the book" was always right, or one who realized that s/he
*might* be wrong (and maybe risking your life on the diagnosis)?  Why do you
think that medical theories are so accurate?  As an obvious case I recall
the swine flu vaccination problems.  If medical science & theories were
very advanced I would not have expected everyone to be so surprised when it
had such harmful side-effects.
-- 
James R. Van Artsdalen    ...!ut-ngp!utastro!osi3b2!james    "Live Free or Die"