I Am Not in Position to Be Your Physician

But, readers of this publication are more or less conversant with medical matters: diseases, treatments, physiologies, genetics, monitoring, interventions, and many more. We are aware of means to protect and foster health, including nutrition, life styles, exercises, medicines, rest, and therapies. We probably know a lot about the details, causes, and prognoses for many common medical ailments. We may even know enough medical lingo to parse out the meaning of less-common medical terms. With all that knowledge, others around us may look to us for medical advice; if they don't, we are often tempted to offer it anyway. Ours is a world of knowledge with importance to ourselves, our families, our friends, and our acquaintances. It is a good position to be in, with many of the benefits of a purveyor of medical knowledge without most of the responsibilities of being a medical practitioner. © 2010-2012 IEEE.