TY - JOUR T1 - <em>Don’t</em> ask an expert JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 537 LP - 537 DO - 10.3399/bjgp15X687037 VL - 65 IS - 639 AU - Edward Snelson Y1 - 2015/10/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/65/639/537.abstract N2 - Often, when someone decides that there is an educational need in primary care, the person organising the session decides to ‘think big’. If there is an internationally-renowned professor of this field then they may be invited to impart wisdom and knowledge about this subject. I believe that this is the completely wrong person for the job.When experienced clinicians want to learn about a subject they want what is relevant to them not what is of interest to an expert. That means getting someone who faces the same clinical scenarios as them but with a greater frequency, and who can add another dimension to their knowledge. That could mean being the person on the receiving end of primary care referrals, or that they have some other reason for sub-specialist expertise. What is not helpful is someone who never faces the same clinical question in essentially the same way.Take the problem of the vomiting baby. Babies who vomit after feeds are unlikely to have a medical problem but some do, and deciding who need tests or treatment is one of the biggest challenges with this age group. If you ask a paediatrician, they will have lots of experience of vomiting babies but their … ER -