So, what's a Kodachrome?
From the Editor
Dr. Schwarzenberger is the former physician editor of DermWorld.
By Kathryn Schwarzenberger, MD, November 1, 2019
When my resident first asked me this question, I thought it was a joke. Surely, they knew what Kodachromes were…and then I looked around the room and realized that none of the other residents or medical students knew what I was talking about either. While they all used the term for our now digital educational sessions, not one of them was aware that the term originated with the small pieces of celluloid that taught us how to look at the skin for so many years.
As if I needed anything else to make me feel old. Even as I write this, Microsoft Word is flagging Kodachrome as an unrecognized word. First introduced in 1935, Kodak produced the color reversal film until the digital revolution effectively made it obsolete. Kodachrome film was last manufactured in 2009 and in just 10 years, has become a forgotten technology. In this, Kodachromes are not alone. Textbooks and medical journals are now available in electronic format, and some of our learners choose to interact only with the digital word. I’m sure some of our students have never held the heavy textbooks we relied upon. Libraries, which used to be rows of books, have been replaced with learning centers, in which computers hold center stage. Information is available almost instantaneously and seems almost unlimited.
Have these changes made us smarter? It’s certainly faster and usually easier to access information these days (assuming, of course, we remember our passwords that grant us access to the electronic font of knowledge…). It turns out we may learn differently when material is presented in electronic formats than when we read the books in front of us. Assistant Managing Editor Allison Evans explores the shifting educational landscape in medicine and looks at the potential impact this may have on us as individuals in our feature article ‘The evolution of education.’ While technology arguably has brought many benefits, there is always the potential for unintended consequences when paradigm shifts happen quickly. If we can learn independently, do we still need classrooms? Do we even need teachers? Are we at risk of losing the human interaction in education? And, if so, at what cost? I guess this remains to be seen.
So, it may be legal, but is it right? Assistant Editor Emily Margosian has brought together the lawyers and ethicists in a series of case studies of complicated situations in which the ethics of a given situation may or may not be aligned with the law. Your patient loses their insurance: Are you still obligated to provide care? Are you even allowed to provide care if they cannot afford to pay for it? A parent demands treatment for an elective — and arguably cosmetic — issue in a child. The child does not want to undergo treatment. What do you do? These are just a few of the potential situations in which we could find ourselves facing conflict between what we want to do, what we feel we should do, and ultimately what we must do. I’m sure you will enjoy as much as I did reading through these fascinating case studies.
Our final feature this month highlights drugs you probably thought you would never use as a dermatologist. Who would have guessed that drugs like gabapentin and ivermectin would end up in our comfort zone? I guess this speaks to the importance of lifelong learning, however you choose to learn! And if you ever want to see Kodachromes in real life, call me. My projector is waiting to be warmed up again!
