TY - JOUR T1 - Some Clinicians Speak about Career-long Learning When Life Gets Real JF - The Journal of Rheumatology JO - J Rheumatol SP - 661 LP - 662 DO - 10.3899/jrheum.180955 VL - 46 IS - 7 AU - ARTHUR A.M. BOOKMAN Y1 - 2019/07/01 UR - http://www.jrheum.org/content/46/7/661.abstract N2 - The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. — Alvin Toffler1In the spring of 2018, a round-Tan ALTan ALtable discussion took place in the presence of 23 rheumatology trainees from the province of Ontario, Canada.The topic of the discussion was lifelong learning. On the panel were 5 rheumatologists representing different stages of career experience: Dr. A, a recently graduated trainee who is currently in community practice; Dr. B, an experienced community rheumatologist in a small city of Ontario; Dr. C, a senior investigator at the University of Toronto; Dr. D, a mid-career academic rheumatologist/epidemiologist; and Dr. E, a senior community rheumatologist.The panel was asked to open with statements describing their efforts and strategies to remain abreast of their professional knowledge.Dr. A noted that because of the volume of knowledge she had studied for recent rheumatology certification examinations, she did not expect that knowledge maintenance was something she would need to be concerned about for some time. However, once in practice, it became apparent that she would need to consider her own continuing education needs because she was no longer in a university setting where she attended mandatory weekly lectures. Dr. A subscribed to an online service that sent her 12 to 15 articles a month in the topic areas that she selected. She also found it useful to periodically discuss complex cases with more experienced colleagues.Dr. B, a mid-career community rheumatologist, was one of only 2 rheumatologists in a catchment area of over 350,000 people. It quickly became evident that every … Address correspondence to Dr. A.A. Bookman, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, 399 Bathurst St., Room 1E424, Toronto, Ontario M5T 2S8, Canada. E-mail: arthur.bookman{at}uhn.on.ca ER -