Today, he has several publications to his name, a distinction he hopes will give him an edge in finding a job when he finishes at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque. Medical educators wish that more residents would try their hand at publishing. They say that creating presentations, whether written or oral, not only helps expand residents' resumes, but also provides valuable experience in presenting patient cases. They also note that writing and speaking skills are something of a dying art in medicine, in part because the skills are rarely taught in medical school or residency. For example, when ACP's New Jersey Chapter holds its annual abstract competition, nearly half the resident submissions are so bad they cannot even be considered, said Richard K. Kasama, FACP, a nephrologist in Stratford, N.J., who helps run the competition.
Problems range from sentences that run off the entry forms to inappropriate topics.
The most common flaw in many presentations by housestaff lies with the underlying thought process, said Dr. Kasama. Compared with physician-researchers, he said, clinicians often fail to clearly lay out their goals, procedures and results. Look for gaps that need to be addressed. For instance, if the reason for choosing a particular treatment protocol is not clear, the resident may need to do a literature search to substantiate the choice. Or, if the resident discovers that a pertinent clinical test was overlooked, he or she could follow up on a subsequent clinic visit with that patient.