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A diagnosis should always be clinical and founded on an anamnesis based on reasoning

DR. JOSÉ LUIS CAMPOS PAHUA

Pediatrician in charge of his own practice in Zitácuaro (Michoacán de Ocampo, Mexico

Practice, prevention, and certainty are the three legs on which Dr. José Luis Campos Pahua, head of a pediatric clinic in the Mexican state of Michoacán, establishes his healthcare practice. The practitioner thinks about Practicum Script as an innovative and disruptive tool that breaks with the traditional methodology to address complex dilemmas of daily practice and encourage thinking skills.

Madrid, July 2, 2018. Dedicated for 40 years to private practice, the Mexican pediatrician José Luis Campos Pahua, who recently participated in the 1000 students campaign grant  by Nestlé, considers that "the advancement of technology has brought along a certain increase in the number of mercenary doctors who expect investigation tests to deliver a diagnosis that should be clinical, and who receive a percentage for requested tests, imposing an economic burden for the patients.” In his opinion, "medical errors are produced by lack of preparation and Practicum Script is greatly helpful, since it creates a virtuous circle of better decision making." In order to point out occurring mistakes, "patient management review committees should be created."

If the maxim says that knowledge gives us the opportunity to make a difference, Dr. Campos, who lives in the Michoacán city of Zitácuaro, trusts the simulator of real clinical cases Practicum Script to stimulate and enrich his vision of the specialty. "It forces us to use all our knowledge, as well as compare our point of view with the most recent bibliography." According to this 67-year-old doctor, licensed in 1970 by UNAM, "it's no longer the capacity of retention, but the ability to create brain maps and detect patterns to integrate differential diagnoses what really makes a difference." In particular, "I really enjoy my profession and training as I work with certainty and without stress, which I associate in good part with the five Practicum Script courses that I have done."

Dr. Campos, who worked in his specialty at the Pediatric Hospital of the National Medical Center of IMSS between 1977 and 1980, is considered an avid reader and in recent times has successfully completed on average between three and four free massive open online courses (MOOC) per month. "Over the last year, I took a dozen courses at Coursera, eDx, and Khan Academy, motivated by your digital learning platform." The hypothetical-deductive method and openness to online debate have helped the specialist to better perform in his professional practice and, according to his words, over the years, the variants introduced in the different editions of the Practicum Script courses, as well as the review of scientific publications around each clinical scenario, has strengthened his confidence in front of the patient.

In fact, he noticed a certain improvement in the attention delivered to these little individuals that he has as patients. "And not only did I realize that, but so did the parents." Resolving each clinical case takes between 30 and 40 minutes, and over 60% end up being especially valuable for his daily practice. "If something characterizes me, is that I am very clinically-driven, thus I take in-depth questioning to the extreme, which allows me to have a broad view of the problem and avoid unnecessary laboratory costs to the children's families," Dr. Campos says in his web portal. He emphasizes: "I establish diagnoses based on clinical history and not on laboratory studies."

Clinical physician
In his opinion, "the work of the pediatrician should be preventive, and this is achieved with periodic reviews and timely and accurate treatments." Along these lines, "my diagnoses are based on a questionnaire and a thorough review of the patient and are supported by four decades of experience and continuous updating." He, therefore, bets on the evaluation of competences and on the continuous professional development, and likes to remember that "our successes are illuminated by the sun, and our mistakes are covered by earth."

To Dr. Campos, the first thing is to have medical ethics, and Practicum Script is a valuable tool to stimulate it in clinical practice. In the simulator, he registers a rate of more than 70% of coincident scenarios and, essentially, the context of his practice is far from the standards of the capital. According to Dr. Campos, Zitácuaro is a municipality of one hundred and sixty thousand inhabitants, 60% distributed in poor rural areas and the rest in urban areas. "In a study that I conducted 5 years ago, where I evaluated a sample from the middle class, and another from the rural area referred to by the municipal DIF, I found rates of acute malnutrition of 30% and chronic malnutrition of 10% among children from the rural area. In urban areas, the percentages were 15% and 5%, respectively."

 

Testimonies

For me, the program is very interesting, since it allows me to sharpen my interrogation and direct it more towards a specific pathology and to have more knowledge of laboratory and cabinet exams. I think it is very important that we keep our medical sagacity throughout our practice and that in the few minutes it takes to answer any of the cases that Practicum Script presents, you acquire more knowledge.

Dr. Miguel Olivares Alcocer

Pediatrician in Guanajuato (Mexico)

I would like to express my gratitude to the Practicum Institute of Health Sciences Research for the opportunity given to Latin American physicians  to access and take different courses of our specialty for the benefit of our dear patients, in my case in Mexico. It has encouraged me to improve myself and keep abreast of the advances in Pediatrics and put into practice the knowledge acquired in the hospital where I work. Thanks friends and congratulations to this valuable team of Practicum Script Education.

Dr. Heriberto Fuentes García

Pediatrician in Sonora (Mexico)

I am grateful for this study tool that, through Nestlé and with this method, allows us to review different issues with cases that confront us in decision-making and serve us in the daily consultation.

Dr. Josué Refugio de León Padilla

Pediatrician in Jalisco (Mexico)

It is an excellent educational support platform for the pediatrician, offers very specific clinical challenges with alternatives for diagnosis and differential diagnoses, with the support of experts, a bibliography and a forum to share opinions. It's easy to navigate and it's fun, a tool that's worth using and making the most of it.

Dr. Guillermo Yanowsky-Reyes

Surgery Pediatrician in Guadalajara (Mexico)

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