A Historical Perspective on Building a Personal Medical Library as described by Harold Jeghers, M.D.

"To read regularly, with a directed purpose to solve problems, is the hallmark of the progressive physician". - Dr. Jeghers

Dr. Jeghers a physician and medical educator for 56 years, considered that ideas from the medical literature acquired when most needed for a clinical decision would be remembered more readily than classroom information.

Since there were few medical libraries in his time in order to facilitate access to medical literature he encouraged the creation and use of a personal medical library. A personal library in his day functioned as an electronic database of literature used today. He described the process of developing a personal medical library in his article Care, Education and Research: Philosophy and Technics of Self-Education of the Medical Student and Physician published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1964.

Dr. Jeghers stated that the essence of professional self-education was reading with the purpose of solving problems. In Dr. Jeghers' opinion the medical library was the center for learning. Additionally, the physician’s personal medical library could become quite useful but would never replace visits to a hospital's library. Dr. Jeghers felt that the medical student should plan to build a personal library as early as possible. At least five years were needed to develop a good personal library. If begun in medical school, a peronsal medical library's development could be guided by educational contacts.[1]

The characteristics of a personal medical library[2]

General Textbooks
Monographs
Medical Journals

An effective personal medical library required a medical journal collection to supplement basic textbooks and monographs. Initially, Dr. Jeghers suggested subscriptions journals covering a broad range of medical topics such as the New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA. Additionally, British medical weeklies such as British Medical Journal or Lancet may be of value. In those days the British journals had excellent coverage and provided the medical student with a broad outlook of new knowledge, particularly that which originated outside of the United States. By the senior year, Dr. Jeghers felt that medical students should be subscribing to 5 or 6 medical journals.

Miscellany–a unique record of personal medical experiences

Dr. Jeghers considered miscellany the most valuable part of the personal medical library. He felt that miscellaneous material should include notes on articles read that were pertinent to patients studied, brief abstracts of material reviewed in the library, pamphlets, notes saved fromlectures or conferences, and meaningful handouts. Notes and summaries on patients "worked up" as a student or house officer should also be included. The personal medical library represented a unique record of professional educational medical experiences.

Simple classification of medical literature

In order to fully utilize a personal library it was necessary to develop a classification scheme . Headings should be written on manila folders to provide indexing. The classification should be by anatomic region or specific organs and should include diseases classified by etiology notably infectious or metabolic and should be arranged alphabetically. Special categories such as legal and medical education should be included.

Dr. Jeghers in days gone by saw a personal library was an effective tool for professional self-education. He wrote, "To read regularly, with a directed purpose to solve problems, is the hallmark of the progressive physician. In the final analysis, each physician must assume the prime responsibility for continuing his education during his professional career once his formal training is ended."[1]

1. Jeghers HJ. Care, Education and Research: Philosophy and Technics of Self-Education of the Medical Student and Physician N. Engl. J. Med. 1964 Dec 17;271:1297-301

2. Jeghers, HJ. Building a personal library for Clinical Problem Solving and Self-Evaluation . Unpublished manuscript. 1969.