Knowledge management: a core skill for surgeons who manage.

The yawning gap between what we know and what we do has major implications for patients. By putting into practice what we know now, we will have a bigger impact on the health of individuals and populations than any drug or technology discovered in the new decade. The assumption underlying this article is that the gap can be closed by thinking, planning, analyzing, mobilizing,managing, personalizing, and using knowledge. There is, however,a risk that the attempted solution may perpetuate or aggravate the problem, and surgeons must be aware of the dangers of substituting thought for action, when knowledge management becomes an industry of its own, remote from the core activities of the organization and those who deliver them.