Good stewardship involves giving up some customary practices and opening up to new ideas (which just might not be all that new). No individual physician can be expected to have all the medical knowledge and skills backed by all the research and know all projected resource availabilities. What we can do is become the best doctors possible, use our knowledge and skills to the best of our abilities, and listen when well-researched guidance is offered. Doctors can learn to be good stewards and still provide excellent, personalized care.

References

1. Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Retrieved on Sept. 3, 2010 (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stewardship).
2. American College of Emergency Physicians. 2007. Resource utilization in the emergency department: The duty of stewardship (www.acep.org/content.aspx?id=29930).
3. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. CIA World Factbook. 2010 (www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html).
4. Leonhardt D. Making health care better. New York Times, Nov. 8, 2009, p. MM31 (www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/magazine/08Healthcare-t.html?r=1&pagewanted=1&hp).
5. Brewster GS and Herbert ME. Medical myth: A digital rectal examination should be performed on all individuals with possible appendicitis. West. J. Med. 2000;173(3):207-8.

Dr. Hall-Boyer is an employee of Sutter Emergency Medicine Associates working at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, Calif. She is a member of ACEP’s Ethics Committee.