Greg Purcell

Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Management, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia.

Aphorisms have been a useful and powerful device to convey important and relevant messages to colleagues and students, and have been embraced by the greatest medical educators over the centuries.
They are defined as a "concise statement of a principal: a terse and often ingenious formulation of a truth or sentiment"; or more succinctly "a pithy observation which contains a general truth".
They are usually based on experience, if not wisdom, and were particularly helpful when little scientific or statistical evaluation was available. Have the impact of meta-analyses, reviews, evidence based medicine, protocols, clinical guidelines and drug reps, made aphorisms redundant?
Enjoy the insights of Hippocrates, Osler, Nietzsche, Murphy and parallel observations from comparable craft groups to confirm the integrity and necessity of aphorisms and their indispensible ability to reinforce the art of our specialty on its scientific foundations.
"To be an Anesthetist requires a delicate balance of confidence and fear; too much of either will cause mistakes."
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."
"If you can't manage the surgeon, you have no business managing the anesthetic."
"Never block pain that isn't there."
"Never forget that your equipment is provided by the lowest bidder."
"This isn't an emergency: this is our job."
"The poor surgeon needs good anaesthesia, the good surgeon deserves it."
"All post-operative complications start intra-operatively."
Don't hesitate to bring your own favorite aphorism, a concise reminder of experience!