A 2015 study found that cardiac patients were less likely to die if they were admitted to a hospital during a national cardiology meeting, when the cardiologists were away.
There is an increasing trend toward specialization in our culture - pursuing a narrow focus in only one knowledge domain or subdomain.
In fact, the solution to difficult problems often comes from multiple domains.
In the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, the problem of how to get that much oil out of water was finally solved by a chemist with experience working with concrete in construction.
The American Headache Society and the American Academy of Neurology didn't recommend magnesium as a common treatment for migraines until 2012, after conducting a comprehensive review of research. A physicist working in private industry as a systems analyst had already made the connection between magnesium deficiency and migraines in 1988 by cross-referencing literature databases from different disciplines. But the specialists didn't listen.
These examples are drawn from a wonderful book by David Epstein called Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. I especially enjoyed the audiobook, read by Will Damron.
Our universities and institutions strongly encourage hyperspecialization.
This is certainly true in medicine. The result is a "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" problem - like when cardiologists treat chest pain with stents even in cases where they are proven to be inappropriate.
The trend is not going to end anytime soon. Our culture fetishizes early and severe specialization.
In the meantime, we should unapologetically seek healthcare input from a variety of sources, consulting outside the box, even outside medicine when possible.
And look for polymaths. Medical providers who don't have broad, as well as deep, domain knowledge aren't playing at your level.
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