What should you have in your little black bag? A letter to a young doctor

Abstract

Rather than looking at which instruments to put in the traditional physician’s black bag, the changing face of medicine suggests that some virtual assets assume prime importance. With a solid background of core knowledge and skills acquired through medical school but continuously developed and updated, several habitual attitudes are advocated—each aiming to address a different facet of concerns in today’s time-constrained, often impersonal, fast-changing, information-overloaded, and highly technological practice. They include humility, curiosity, “red flag” identification, and reflexive database consultation—each with myriad, diverse advantages.