DURING ALMOST 30 years of inpatient and outpatient attending at 4 medical schools in different parts of the United States, I have collected a number of aphorisms that I offer as possible guidelines for the young physicians with whom I am working. These (hopefully) helpful hints stem from my own experience and from advice given to me over the years by veteran clinical teachers and mentors. This short essay contains 10 of these pieces of advice. I cite the original source for some of these rules when I can remember who first enunciated the aphorism.

10 RULES

Rule 1: The least indicated procedures lead to the most complications. This rule implores clinicians to make sure that every procedure or test ordered has a reasonable probability of altering management. The first time I became aware of this rule . . . [Full Text of this Article]