Pathogenesis is not a thing of the past

We went to medical school. We studied, and many of us learned about pathogenesis of diseases. We were encouraged by our attendings and throttled by our chief residents to be able to spout off the causes of conditions. It wasn’t enough to name the condition; we had to know the myriad possible etiologies. Being quizzed made us sharp. We started to learn patterns and became better diagnosticians because we could digest the complexities of a patient while we did the history and physical. And we knew, even before lab tests came back, what was going on with the patient and how it got there.

This is an excerpt from member-only content. Please log in or become a member.