Since I helped start this thread I can't resist adding to it.

I think you need to be selective about handouts.  By that I mean know your
audience.
The point about having an accurate reference is a good one and using
colored paper is a help when someone needs to find it later.

The thing that made me create the little green book was the realization one
day in med school that when I received a handout, no matter how great the
lecture was, it went with the other 15 or 20 I got that week in the "save"
pile on my desk.  Every so often the "desk save pile" would  get large
enough to become the floor "gotta do something about this" pile.

As a doc I get about 5 journals a week, between 5 and 10 pieces of doctor
mail per day and get any where from 0 to 6 journal articles/handouts given
to me per day ( avg about10-12 per week) not including the ones I go get
myself in the interest of treating a patient.  I have a 4 drawer file
cabinet and a 2 drawer cabinet and a computer program that stores articles.
 I also have a 1 foot by 2 foot pile of papers to file on my floor [I've
learned since med school to skip the desk step entirely since residency is
even busier]

There's so much to know.....If you give me something good that will fit in
my pocket or on my bookshelf (like the bound books I get at conferences)
I'll probably end up using it or putting it where it can be located at
short notice.  Otherwise it ends up in the save pile.....

How about others out there.... what's your paper flow like?

Gail
Gail Hertz, MD, IBCLC
Pediatric Resident
author of the little green breastfeeding book - disclaimer: owner of Pocket
Publications
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