A Twitter thread celebrating generalism
May 2021
A thread celebrating the importance of generalism: Clinical all-rounders are the glue of health care. We see and treat the whole person. We interact with the entire system. We’re mostly very good at what we do. Our skill-set includes knowing when and how to ask for help.
Health care needs generalists - in EDs, in hospitals, in the community, and especially in General Practice, which is the backbone of our system. It also needs specialists - to manage complex problems and perform expert procedures with skill and care.
Something I love about clinical work in ED is working with colleagues from other specialties and professions. I love solving problems together, learning new things, and improving my skills. Collaboration and communication are good for everyone.
We often ask colleagues from other professions and specialties to teach in ED. You’ll find a wide range of people included on JMO and trainee tutorial programs and speaking at ED conferences. We run interdisciplinary training sessions and workshop inter-specialty communication.
ED clinicians really appreciate other specialties offering to educate us about their area of expertise. Not only does this build our skills but it helps us understand their professional context and priorities.
It would be good to have more opportunities to do this in return. I think we generalists have a lot to offer specialist colleagues too. Information and education should flow both ways - to build better collaboration, communication and a smoother and more integrated system.
If you’re running a medical program or conference, think about asking a generalist to speak. Ask for their clinical tips and tricks. Ask about the context in which they make decisions. Ask how you can work together better. Go on! Ask an EP, RG or GP to present.
It’s very easy to criticise decisions made by other clinicians - especially those who are generalists. It’s easy to think that more specialist training will help. But please take care to recognise the important role and enormous skills of generalists too.
We’re all in this together. Let’s actively work on learning from and with each other. Let’s include patients and carers too. Thanks!
PS thanks to non-ED colleagues who have had me along - just received an invitation to speak at an ortho meeting which got me thinking.
And a big shout out for GPs and Rural Generalists. Thank you! We acute generalists in ED have much to learn from what you do.
Chose the one man band photo because it was cute but ideally we’d all work together like a symphony orchestra.
Or maybe a bit like the orchestra for a Broadway musical where some people play a bit of everything and others specialise on one part. Like the time I played sax, flute and oboe for Joseph and his dream coat but the drummer drummed - probably stretching the analogy now... fin.
PS and obviously EPs, GPs and RGs are specialists. Specialist generalists with very, very broad skill-sets.
