Maintaining your learning stream (your customized flow of educational content) is a key part of being an  effective lifelong learner. Even in the age of FOAM the center of your learning network can become heavily weighted towards just a few resources; which is why taking the time to search periodically for new ones should be as routine as cleaning your hard drive.

Content sources within the FOAM universe are of course easier to find, but this can become a self-referential system, and so I try to spend time periodically looking for relevant but unusual places with new learning.  The Autopsy Center of Chicago blog is one of those.

Autopsy rates have declined dramatically in recent decades, and the valuable feedback they provide for clinicians has declined with them. According to the CDC, overall autopsy rates have dropped more than 50 percent since 1972. That number gets worse if you look just at autopsies performed for disease related deaths.

While autopsy rates may be declining, in a hashtag world, the potential knowledge to be gained from them doesn’t have to. The Autopsy Center of Chicago has a blog that presents interesting monthly cases, and offers a view into the pathologist’s post hoc world I find fascinating and educational. Sure, it’s not like getting autopsy results on your patient, but there is still plenty of educational value for clinicians here. It also has some unexpected features, such as insight into family motivations for wanting an autopsy, and the emotional value they contain.

Aortic rupture presenting as hip pain

Looking at this site makes me wonder why there isn’t a national autopsy registry with regular updates for clinicians on what is being discovered about the diseases we treat, mistreat, or just miss all together. In the meantime, I’m adding this blog to my favorite Flipboard feed.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist the urge to throw in some 70’s medical television on this one.