William Summerskill '76
Basing medical decisions on scientific evidence seems like an obvious approach. But as William Summerskill ’76 will tell you, this often does not happen. So after 15 years as a general practitioner, he took a sharp turn away from the bedside to become senior executive editor of The Lancet, a world-renowned British medical journal. There, he works with authors to publish evidence of the highest standard, which can then inform doctors’ decisionmaking.
Bill credits the confluence of three events with his career change: unwelcome changes in the practice of family medicine, a desire for more personal fulfilment, and the arrival of David Sackett, a pioneer of evidence-based medicine, at Oxford University. “Once I studied under him,” says Bill, “the world never looked quite the same.”
Evidence-based medicine is based on the notion that research should be considered in any medical intervention. One widely known example of how evidence has helped change medical practice is the decline of antibiotic use for viral infections—long believed to be effective but without the data to back up the presumption.
At The Lancet, Bill writes editorials, oversees offices in New York and Beijing, enhances the journal’s presence in Asia, and helps screen article submissions. After surviving what he calls “the editorial sieve,” articles are rigorously peer reviewed. About one-quarter to one-third of the articles submitted to The Lancet are rejected outright, and only 4 percent ultimately are published.
Bill often finds out on a Thursday that he will be writing an editorial, becomes expert on the topic over the weekend, and makes a Tuesday deadline. He has opined on everything from pain control to lethal injection, emergency contraception to tuberculosis. Many of his editorials—he pens about one a month—have stirred lively debate. One that criticized homeopathy led to a major reappraisal of this alternative medical system in the UK.
Groton provided an early foundation for a fascinating career that combines medicine with the humanities. “I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if it weren’t for Groton, ” he says. In fact, his Groton science prize from almost 40 years ago, awarded for his study of bile acid reabsorption in rats, is still on his CV.
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Bill credits the confluence of three events with his career change: unwelcome changes in the practice of family medicine, a desire for more personal fulfilment, and the arrival of David Sackett, a pioneer of evidence-based medicine, at Oxford University. “Once I studied under him,” says Bill, “the world never looked quite the same.”
Evidence-based medicine is based on the notion that research should be considered in any medical intervention. One widely known example of how evidence has helped change medical practice is the decline of antibiotic use for viral infections—long believed to be effective but without the data to back up the presumption.
At The Lancet, Bill writes editorials, oversees offices in New York and Beijing, enhances the journal’s presence in Asia, and helps screen article submissions. After surviving what he calls “the editorial sieve,” articles are rigorously peer reviewed. About one-quarter to one-third of the articles submitted to The Lancet are rejected outright, and only 4 percent ultimately are published.
Bill often finds out on a Thursday that he will be writing an editorial, becomes expert on the topic over the weekend, and makes a Tuesday deadline. He has opined on everything from pain control to lethal injection, emergency contraception to tuberculosis. Many of his editorials—he pens about one a month—have stirred lively debate. One that criticized homeopathy led to a major reappraisal of this alternative medical system in the UK.
Groton provided an early foundation for a fascinating career that combines medicine with the humanities. “I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if it weren’t for Groton, ” he says. In fact, his Groton science prize from almost 40 years ago, awarded for his study of bile acid reabsorption in rats, is still on his CV.
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