No 58: The 12 Medical Gifts of Christmas Special Edition
I have been thinking about how to write this article for a while, and now I’ve just given up and drafted it as a Christmas special edition!
The big idea in this article is this, “almost every good idea you ever have, someone else will probably have thought of it first”.
I like to think that I have had some good ideas in my time, and this christmas edition will list some of my favourite ideas… that someone else has already beaten me to and has done a much better job than I ever could! It’s a list of books and podcasts that I have really enjoyed and I hope you would as well!
On the first day of Christmas my true life-experience gave to me…
The idea of being sensible and reading around a subject before starting work on it. It has taken me a long time to realise, that you can save yourself an awful lot of time and work by just doing some research first. I know this might sound obvious to most people, but it took a while for it to sink into my thick skull.
So, I thought I would use the rest of this article to list some great ideas, and to save you time, some of the best resources I have found that already exist!
2nd great idea: Wouldn’t it be awesome to host a podcast and then interview some of the top doctors and scientitists in the world about the cutting edge of medicine?
https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/
https://www.youtube.com/c/PeterAttiaMD
3rd great idea: How about writing a blog on substack about medicine and really interesting studies and thought pieces?
https://sensiblemed.substack.com/about
4th great idea: Wouldn’t it be really inspiring to have a collection of all of the greatest sayings, aphorisms and wise quotes from famous doctors? A book or webpage that you could dip into and feel inspired by great clinicians? Or just a place to steal cool quotes for teaching slides?
https://litfl.com/eponymictionary/oslerisms/
5th great idea: How about a short book of collected wisdom from all of the specialities that would be useful for a GP?
Instant Wisdom for GPs: Pearls from All the Specialities by Keith Hopcroft
6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th great ideas: How about writing a book about life as a junior doctor, the highs and the lows, funny stories and moving wise life lessons?
Don’t forget that if you buy these on Audible then you can multitask and be ever more efficient this Xmas.
11th great idea: What about a book about life as a GP and all the funny stories people tell when they come into the consultation room?
Confessions of a GP by Benjamin Daniels
12th and last great idea: What about writing a book on the bigger issues within medicine and society? What about using those clinical skills to think philosophically and deeply about the modern world and our place within it?
The works of Dr Theodore Dalrymple
And one last great idea, since its Christmas… Apparently, if you directly ask people to do you a favour, then they are more likely to do it.
So, as a Christmas favour, could you all please kindly share Medicurious with at least one other person who might be interested in a wide range of medical articles. And if everyone does this then I might be able to retire by next Christmas!