Relevant quotes: Relevant quotes
Contents
- 1 Anatomy
- 2 Behaviour
- 3 Complications/errors
- 4 Conflict of interest
- 5 Cost/Value-Based Healthcare
- 6 Diagnosis
- 7 Education/teaching
- 8 Efficiency
- 9 Health
- 10 Knowledge/Learning
- 11 Medical errors
- 12 Medication/Drugs/Prescription
- 13 Retirement
- 14 Results/Persistence
- 15 Science
- 16 Second opinion
- 17 Statistics
- 18 Indication/Plan/Planning
- 19 Teamwork
- 20 Treatment
- 21 Surgery
Anatomy
An anomaly is not an abnormality. Diversity does not signify sickness Georges Canguilhem
Know the normal before examining for the abnormal William Osler
Humans are variable William Osler
Minima cura si maxima vis - Take care of small things if you want to obtain the greatest results Academia de los Linces (1603)
The role of the infinitely small is infinitely large Louis Pasteur
Do not look to things that you don’t want to find
Behaviour
Don's act superior William Osler
Respect your colleagues William Osler
Never listen to tales or slander a colleague/Never listen to a patient's criticism of another doctor William Osler
Silence is the best weapon against slander William Osler
Silence is power William Osler
Speak only when you have something to say William Osler
Complications/errors
The one who does not operate, who lies, and who does not follow his patients does not have complications
Good surgeons operate well: great surgeons know how to manage their own complications
Errors cannot be avoided William Osler
Do not congratulate yourself for saving a patient from a trouble inflicted by you
Conflict of interest
Do not sacrifice mental independence William Osler
The commercial promotion of drugs is lamentable William Osler
The more conflit of interest you have, the less conflicted you are
Cost/Value-Based Healthcare
New equipment and new procedures may improve medical care, but seldom decrease the cost Mark M Ravitch (1919-1989)
It is the surgeon who benefits more from elective surgery
Diagnosis
Uncertainty is the rule in medicine William Osler
Education/teaching
Intellectual laziness is a vice William Osler
Believe nobody, question everything
If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants Sir Isaac Newton Letter to Robert Hooke (5 February 1676)
Do not expect much from others William Osler
We are influenced by those we admire William Osler
A well-trained doctor is a valuable asset William Osler
Medical common sense is rare William Osler
The practical outcome of medical training is to help others William Osler
The path of medical education follows the evolution of knowledge William Osler
The teacher still has a lot to learn William Osler
The surgical resident is like a mushroom: kept in the dark, fed shit, and expected to grow.
Efficiency
Resolve not to waste time William Osler
Do first what has to be done William Osler
or
I never put off till tomorrow what I can possibly do - the day after Oscar Wilde
Health
To be in good health means being able to fall sick and recover Canguilhem
Soap, water, and common sense are the best disinfectants William Osler
Too much drugs mean they are all insufficient William Osler
Knowledge/Learning
Knowledge is power Francis Bacon
Knowing what to do provides imperturbability William Osler
A student should be a citizen of the world William Osler
Never lose sight of your goal William Osler
Learning is lifelong/Education is a life course William Osler
Medicine is a difficult art to acquire William Osler
Each case has a lesson/Learn from each patient William Osler
Learn from your errors/Learn from your mistakes William Osler
To know that you do not know is the best. To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease Lao-tzu Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)
Pretending to know is a conceit William Osler
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Medical errors
A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them John C Maxwell
Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes Oscar Wilde
Medication/Drugs/Prescription
Sola dosis facit venenum -The dose makes the poison Paracelsus (1493-1541)
Patients can get well without antibiotics Mark M Ravitch (1910-1989)
Most men die of their remedies, not of their disease Molière (1622-1673)
Extreme remedies are very appropriate for extreme diseases Hyppocrates (460-377 BC)
Retirement
The old should remember that they represent the past, and that the young represent the future William J Mayo (1861-1939)
Results/Persistence
Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance Samuel Johnson
Perfection is obtained by little effort Arab saying
Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence Vince Lombardi
Perfection is to be cultivated William Osler
The enemy of good is better
Does absence of proof of efficacy provide proof of the absence of efficacy? John Marshall
The first report of any new operation is rarely unfavorable Mark M Ravitch (1910-1989)
Science
Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it André Gide
In science, the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man the idea first occurs William Osler
Every scientific truth is met initially by skepticism William Osler
General acceptance of truth takes time William Osler
Scientific education facilitates clinical work William Osler
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication Leonardo Da Vinci
Second opinion
The more the doctors, the sadder the prognosis William Osler
If two people agree, one of them is not a doctor Unknown
Statistics
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics Mark Twain
I only believe in statistics that I doctored myself Winston S. Churchill Former British Prime Minister
Indication/Plan/Planning
Doing something is sometimes worse than doing nothing Gail Waldby
It is difficult to make the asymptomatic patient feel better Stanley O Hoerr (1909-1990)
The greatest triumph of surgery today… lies in finding ways for avoiding surgery Robert Tuttle Morris (1857-1945)
The most difficult thing is to do nothing Norman M Rich
It takes five years to learn when to operate and twenty years to learn when not to Unknown
You can always amend a big plan, but you can never expand a little one Harry S. Truman Former U.S. President
Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential Winston Churchill Former British Prime Minister
The feasibility of an operation is not the best indication for its performance Henry Cohen (1900-1977)
Never be the first but never be the last to accept change Angus B McLachlin (1908-1987)
Teamwork
Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much Helen Keller
Treatment
“First the word, then the plant, lastly the knife” Aesculapius of Thassaly (1200 BC)
Care for the patient, not the disease/Put the patient before the disease William Osler
The physician is only nature's assistant Galen
Do not mess around with mother nature Jonathan Meakins
Surgery
The simpler the procedure, the better the results Charles FM Saint (1886, 1973)
If it looks good, it might work. If it does not look good, it will never work William Silen
If everything is going right you’ve done something wrong
A poor workman blames his tool
Blood brain barrier (BBB): the screen between the surgeon and anaesthetics
All bleeding eventually ceases Guy de Chauliac (1300-1368)
There are 4 degrees of intra-operative hemorrhage: 1. “Why did I get involved in this operation?” 2. “Why did I become a surgeon?” 3. “Why did I study to become a doctor?” 4. “Why was I born?” Alexander A Artemiev
When in doubt drain Robert Lawson Tait (1845-1899)
The incision must be as long as necessary and as short as possible Theodore Kocher (1841-1917)
Big surgeon - big incision – small activity