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09/14/2022
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (MEDICAL EDUCATION)
From: Elliot Udell, DPM
Thanks, Dr. Levy, for posting this information. Is there a way that we can take such a course, online? Could you organize such a course? Medical disinformation is out there, getting worse and is a genuine threat to public health. In New York State, where I live, we are dealing with communities that will not vaccinate their kids for measles and mumps and now polio. This year, polio raised its ugly head in upstate New York for the first time in over half a century. This is on top of frequent outbreaks of measles and mumps because the people who will not vaccinate their kids are convinced, based on misinformation, that vaccines cause autism.
Elliot Udell, DPM, Hicksville, NY
Other messages in this thread:
03/31/2024
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (MEDICAL EDUCATION) - PART 2
RE: The MD Accreditation Process
From: Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD
The accreditation process for podiatry schools is a rigorous endeavor. Make no mistake, the maintenance of accreditation, an ongoing process, is no walk in the park either. You will notice that over the years, there has been public debate about transitioning to an MD degree. Podiatry Management featured a roundtable discussion some years back that allowed the deans of each school, six or maybe seven at the time, to weigh in on the discussion and explain their viewpoints. Subsequent to that roundtable, no movement was made toward making our schools MD granting institutions. There has been speculation regarding why nothing changes, although the roundtable was provoked by a groundswell of podiatrists clamoring for an MD degree.
The first reason is that our curriculum is not rigorous enough and would need to be upgraded completely. Partially true. At the time podiatry schools taught to the cellular level. Today, we are approaching the molecular level where MD schools...
Editor's note: Dr. Tomczak's extended-length letter can be read here.
03/31/2024
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (MEDICAL EDUCATION) - PART 1B
RE: Podiatrists and the USMLE
From: Jay Wenig, DPM
Passing the USMLE does not by itself mean a provider can or should be FULLY qualified to practice any and all aspects of medicine.
I spent the first 23 years of practice in the Air Force and I saw what happened when medical providers were forced to practice out of their area of expertise. When I first went in the military, all of the medical doctors were forced to work in the emergency room as the medical officer of the day (MOD) on a rotating basis regardless of their specialty. This no longer...
Editor's note: Dr. Wenig's extended-length letter can be read here.
03/31/2024
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (MEDICAL EDUCATION) - PART 1A
RE: Podiatrists and the USMLE
From: John Chisholm, DPM
I am one of those podiatrists who believe that after some curriculum changes, recent podiatric medical school graduates could pass the USMLE 1 & 2. I do not believe anyone would “bring it to its knees”.
The point that is being missed is that U.S. medical students spend months being prepped to take the exam. Pass/fail is a function of not only the education but the thoroughness of the prep. I believe that with sufficient prep, some (not all) of our graduates would pass.
And that’s not just my opinion. Some years ago, students at the two California schools took a standardized practice test that most medical students take. With no prep at one school and minimal prep at the other, several received a passing score.
John Chisholm, DPM, San Diego, CA
09/19/2022
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (MEDICAL EDUCATION)
From: Leonard A. Levy, DPM, MPH
The September 14 issue of PM News printed suggestions to me regarding a post I submitted regarding a class on misinformation offered by the University of Chicago Medical School. One of the comments was from Elliot Udell, DPM who suggested that I organize such a class and that it be delivered on-line. I do think that this is a useful suggestion. However, I think that such a class be part of the scope of the Foot and Ankle Section (FAS) of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and that it would be most effective if the FAS invited other sections of the APHA to participate (e.g., Medical Care Section). Such an interprofessional initiative, at least in my opinion, would be more effective than if the class was focused on a single discipline.
One need only to look at the major controversies regarding vaccinations that took place (and still are taking place) in the COVID-19 pandemic, not only in the United States but internationally. I certainly would be glad to be part of such an effort, not only because I am a founding member of the FAS, but also because of my education as well as experience. This includes holding a Master of Public Health degree as well as having an extensive background in medical education (e.g., 17 years at Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine as full time Associate Dean of Research and Innovation and 2 years as a member of the Curriculum Committee of the new College of Allopathic Medicine at NSU).
Leonard A. Levy, DPM, MPH, Fort Lauderdale, FL
09/16/2022
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (MEDICAL EDUCATION)
From: Billie Bondar, DPM
I believe that the misinformation class is a grand idea. The podiatric sector that hears the patients declare that this is what the Internet said I have to do, rules the thought pattern of the public for footcare. Frankly, the MDs/DOs and PAs have the same info, so where is the true education regarding the lower extremity developing in institutions of medicine? I have heard stories how at the UC, a daughter and mother could see the PA looking at the computer screen, then wander back to the treatment room and try to perform an avulsion.
Then there is the story how the primary physician treated a callus for over 3 years, but it was an SCC that only got larger. The info is so obsolete and incorrect for what to do with an ingrown toenail or say that an HM medial toe is a wart!
I roll my eyes every day when the words come out of patients' mouths how his or her doctor said the way to help plantar fasciitis is to put Dr. Scholl inserts in shoes. That arch support might hold up a toddler, but for the 200 lb. female, it’s NOT happening! Yes, educate the young doctors of all branches of medicine to deal with misinformation and set up a few seminars for older practicing docs as well.
Billie Bondar, DPM, Rochester, NH
09/15/2022
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (MEDICAL EDUCATION)
From: Brian Kiel, DPM
Dr. Rosenblatt was making a well thought out (but erroneous in my opinion) opinion about covid until he stated that virologists were cowed into silence by "powerful media" and "those who want to replace a conservative government above all else". Sir, if you want to make a scientific or even personal statement about covid, I respect your right whether or not I agree. However, when you start the nonsense implying that there is a great liberal force trying to stop the misinformation from coming from "certain sectors", you lose credibility. We all have opinions and we are free to state those that have validity, not necessarily true, but thought out. Trying to validate those opinions with conspiracy actions is offensive and divisive no matter where they come from.
Brian Kiel, DPM, Memphis, TN
09/14/2022
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (MEDICAL EDUCATION) - PART 2
From: Michael M. Rosenblatt, DPM
When it comes to so-called “medical misinformation,” there is always the same question: “Who is the absolute authority?” During the years of Dr. Ignatz Semmelweis, the ultimate authority did not feel it necessary to wash hands between examining and treating female patients in childbirth. Dr. Semmelweis was hounded into a mental institution by greater powers who disagreed with him. We now have political leaders who believed in vaccines as the answer to Covid. As it turned out, the Chinese product did not work very well. So-called "natural immunity" was relegated into "medical misinformation." We are still dealing with issues of possible spike protein damage (from mRNA vaccines) to a cadre’ of young men who were not particularly at risk of death from Covid in the first place.
This is not in a vacuum. Science is always in flux. The new data from the James Webb Space Telescope is throwing the standard cosmology model into a frenzy of...
Editor's note: Dr. Rosenblatt's extended-length letter can be read here.
09/12/2022
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (MEDICAL EDUCATION)
RE: University of Chicago Medical School Offers Class on Misinformation
From: Leonard A. Levy, DPM, MPH
Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors’ voices have sometimes been drowned out by social media users who blast misinformation across the globe, leading patients to make questionable, and sometimes dangerous, choices about their health. (Diabetes ProSmart Brief, September 9, 2022).
The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine provides a new class to equip doctors and other medical professionals to battle medical misinformation. The medical school began offering the class to medical students and residents last year and has developed a condensed version for others studying to be health professionals. Sara Serritella, one of the instructors, who also serves as director of communications for the UC Institute for Translational Medicine said, “As we saw during the pandemic, this whole crisis of having to communicate science in a way that builds...
Editor's note: Dr. Levy's extended-length letter can be read here.
02/01/2021
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (MEDICAL EDUCATION)
RE: USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills Discontinued
From: Leonard A. Levy, DPM, MPH
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), co-sponsors of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®), announced January 26, 2021 the discontinuation of Step 2 CS (clinical skills). Elements of clinical reasoning and communication will continue to be assessed on other exams (Steps) in the USMLE sequence.
Computer-based case simulations in Step 3 and communication content recently bolstered in Step 1 are examples of these efforts. "The FSMB is committed to supporting state medical boards in their principal mission to protect the public," said Humayun J. Chaudhry, DO, MACP, President and CEO of the FSMB. "As co-sponsors of the USMLE program, we will continue to seek innovative and sensible ways to assess medical licensing eligibility."
Leonard A. Levy, DPM, MPH, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
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