Kernohan’s notch false localizing sign. PPRF. The 7th nerve fascicle wraps around the 6th nerve nucleus. (Or is it the other way around?)
Dr. Allan M. Block
Yes, I’m studying for my 10-year boards.
It’s funny how many of these details you forget over time. I used to be able to rattle off names, syndromes, and pathways at the dreaded Thursday morning differential conference in residency. To not know them would get you a dreaded glare from the chairman. Now ... not as much.
Granted, the names of such things become less important over time. What’s important is the instinctive understanding of them that comes with experience. Remembering the specific name of a neural pathway becomes less relevant compared to recognizing where the problem is when you see that patient, and translating that into appropriate testing and treatment.
But, every 10 years, I have to go back to the books. Relearn the faded details of enzyme pathways, miscellaneous receptor actions, and courses of nerve tracts.
A lot of it is done on my iPad, a gadget I never imagined back in medical school, but it’s still the same routine I knew so well back then: Reading a page, staring blankly off to commit some point to memory, taking a practice test, and reviewing the answers. Occasionally, wandering off to get a can of soda or make tea.
Of course, today I have to work that around my family and job, concerns I didn’t have to split my time with in medical school. I had classmates who were married and had kids, and this always gives me a new respect for how they managed it.
Does knowing these details again make me a better doctor? I have no idea. I understand the idea that we need some way of showing we’re still on top of things after 20 years in the field. I’m not sure the current maintenance of certification practices are the best way to do that, but admittedly I don’t have any better ideas.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.