Cornrnentarv

CONCERNING A NEW DERMATOLOGY PUBLICATION, DIALOGUES IN DERMATOLOGY STEPHEN B. WEBSTER, M.D.

From the Section on Dermatology, Cundersen Clinic, La Crosse, Wisconsin

project, thought that there was a need for a cassette type of journal which would present current topics in clinical dermatology to the office practitioner. The cassette format was chosen to enablethe subscriberto listen while driving to and from the office, on trips, and generally in spare time whichl’nightotherwise be wasted. This enables the subscriber to use his time to qualify for continuing medical education credit, which i s an increasing way of American medical life. Each month the cassette will cover various subjects in dermatology. The program will consist of interviews of persons having ipecial expertise in a given subject, the interview being conducted by associate editors who are dermatologists across the country.* The interview technique has proven to be a stimulating and provocative method of presenting a subject, as the interviewer is able to question the presenter on specific points, bringing the discussion to a practical clivical level in a way which cannot be done in the

This i s a time when dermatologists, as are all other practitioners of medicine, are being deluged with a plethora of medical publications. These include medical journals obtained by subscription which keep the physician current on developments in medicine, usually specifically in his particular area of interest, and also quasi-medical journals, known vulgarly as “throwaways,” which seem to appear on the physician’s desk in a never-ending stream. In this current situation i s there a need for another dermatologic publication? The answer to this question i s an unequivocal YES if this new publication will perform a unique and specific service to the dermatologist. It appears that Dialogues in Dermatology, a new audiovisual cassette journal, will prove to be a valuable addition to the continuing medical education of dermatologists today. Dialogues in Dermatology is sponsored by the American Academy of Dermatology. The Committee on Audio-Visual Education is the committee directly responsible for the implementation of the program. The Board of Directors of the Academy, in evaluating the

* The editorial staff is composed of: Wilma Bergfeld, M.D., Cleveland, OH. Mark Dahl, M.D., Minneapolis, MI Ervin Epstein, Jr., M.D., Oakland, CA Lowell Goldsmith, M.D., Durham, NC W. David Jacoby, M.D., Tucson, AZ David Ramsay, M.D., New York, NY William Stewart, M.D., Vancouver, BC, Canada Stephen Stone, M.D., Springfield, IL The editorial consultant is: Frederick D. Malkinson, M.D., Chicago, IL.

Address for reprints: Stephen B. Webster, M.D., Gundersen Clinic, La Crosse, WI 54601. 001 1-9059-78-01 00-0056-0050

@ International Society of Tropical Dermatology

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No. 1

DIALOGUES IN DERMATOLOGY

conventional presentation of a paper by a single person. Although the cassette will form the heart of the journal, written material will also be composed of graphs, diagrams and tables when appropriate, as well as Ektrachrome color transparencies to emphasize specific points. A current bibliography on the subject will be supplied, as will multiple-choicequestions toaccentuate key points and add to the educational value of the program. The completion of these questions and returning of the answer sheet to the Academy office will enable the subscriber to be eligible for Category I credit toward the American Academy of Dermatology CME Award. Those completing the test also can meet the requirements for credit in Category I for the Physicians Recognition Award of the American Medical Association. Category 5 credit may be obtained if the individual does not elect to submit the answer sheet.

Webster

Table 1.

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Division of Material Covered

Therapy and diagnosis of skin diseases, clinical aspects Basic research, directed toward clinical application Review of current literature Socioeconomic aspects of dermatology

50% 15% 15% 10%

The content of the publication i s primarily directed toward the office based clinical dermatologist, and subjects are chosen to keep the practitioner current on developments and material of daily relevance (Table 1). Many of the interviews will take place at nptional and regional meetings. Dialogues in Dermatology i s designed to complement the printed journal. It will not replace the venerable and trustworthy written format, but rather it wil I synergistically work to emphasize and reinforce important old points and new developments.

Eczema More ritualistic kinds of bloodletting, all resulting in the death of the animal in question, is seen in an account from Lunenberg County, Nova Scotia, where a child with asthma was made to stand in the hot blood of a slaughtered animal; from Tennessee, where the gushing blood of a freshly killed pig was thought to help eczema; and from Illinois where the warm blood from a freshly killed beef was made to drip on hands afflicted with eczema. In their general outlines all three of these cures are not too unlike the taurobolium of antiquity, where the blood of a slain bull was made to flow freely oyer communicants huddled beneath a sacrificial scaffold. To return to the point made earlier, even though sacramental regeneration did not figure in any of the American blood rituals listed above, physical renewal was at the basis of every single one. Once more I must emphasize the fact that this explanation is one which I myself have supplied. Never was the life of the animal itself thought of as effecting the cure; rather, the cure was expected as a result of the special power of the blood as a medicine.-Hand, W . D.: Animal Sacrifice in American Folk Curative Practice. Bull. Hist. Med. 5 7 :234, 7 977.

Concerning a new dermatology publication, Dialogues in Dermatology.

Cornrnentarv CONCERNING A NEW DERMATOLOGY PUBLICATION, DIALOGUES IN DERMATOLOGY STEPHEN B. WEBSTER, M.D. From the Section on Dermatology, Cundersen...
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