Adam Cifu

1 week ago | sensible-med.com | Adam Cifu

This is an updated version of an article I posted on Sensible Medicine last year. On Monday, I’ll be starting a stint attending on our inpatient general medicine service with a couple of our brand-spanking-new interns. It seemed like a good time to bring out this column. I came up with this list by reflecting on what did and did not work for me during my training, at least when viewed from the proverbial retrospectoscope. This Substack is reader-supported.

2 weeks ago | sensible-med.com | Adam Cifu

A few months ago, I wrote about how a study that purported to show that an older version of the Shingrix vaccine prevented dementia was covered in the news. I argued that although people should get the current vaccine, I did not think the study proved that vaccinating against shingles prevents dementia. As is often the case -- which is what I love about this site -- I got some feedback. Some people congratulated me on my wisdom, while others explained why I was wrong.

2 weeks ago | sensible-med.com | Vinay Prasad |John Mandrola |Adam Cifu

The most common question we get asked is: is there a course on how to become better at critically reading medical research. Here it is!This is the fourth of 9 videos that we recorded as part of a course on clinical appraisal, and there will be many more to come. This and future videos will be made available as a thank you to paid subscribers.

3 weeks ago | sensible-med.com | Adam Cifu

In the nearly 30 years on medical school faculties, I have counseled students as they made their decisions regarding a future specialty. Only once have I needed to encourage a student to apply into dermatology. Usually, proto-dermatologists have their eyes doggedly fixed on the field from the moment they arrive at medical school (sometimes even years before).

3 weeks ago | sensible-med.com | Adam Cifu

This is my second article about clothing recently. I promise I am not going to turn Sensible Medicine into a place to discuss the doctors’ style choices (“Sensible Fashion?”). However comments to my earlier article re-animated one of my pet peeves and gave me this opportunity to talk about a favorite topic, surrogate endpoints. The pet peeve is people parroting the idea that wearing a white coat or a long tie — hell, even using a stethoscope — is a major threat to public health.