Clinicians today are in a bind. Increasing demands on their time are squeezing out opportunities to stay abreast of the literature, much less read it critically. Results of several studies indicate an inverse relation between knowledge of contemporary care and time since graduation from medical school. In many jurisdictions, attendance at a specified number of hours of continuing medical education courses is mandatory to maintain a licence to practise. However, the failure of these courses to improve patient care emphasises the importance of selfdirected learning through reading. Many clinicians in practice, though, report that they feel unqualified to read the medical literature critically. Scientific illiteracy is a major failing of medical education.