head to toe book

[blindsideflank]

hey, im looking for a book based almost solely on a complete physical assessment. for example starting at the head when you inspect the eyes what you would look for and what deviations in the norm would mean (color of sclera in eyes, color of inside of eyelids etc. then onto the ears then nose, mouth...) i dunno if this book exists or if there are diagnostic books out there that i can understand but i appreciate any suggestions.

PS im working at finishing my advanced care medic and just looking for some material to improve my abilities so things like urology diagnostics etc. are not that useful to me (i dont think my glucometer measures albumin levels)

[WaveSense]

Are you looking for just a physical exam book? I hear that lots of people in our class use Bate's, haven't myself bought it yet but from flipping through it looks pretty comprehensive

[Lactic Folly]

I own a copy of Clinical Examination by Epstein.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Clinical-Examination-STUDENT-CONSULT-Access/dp/0723434549/ref=dp_ob_title_bk/183-6148538-1383745

 

There are other similar books out there - Bates is one of them.

[JeraJaclyn]

I like Bates.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Physical-Examination-History-Taking-E-Book/dp/0781785197

[BlackJack]

Bates' sucks.

 

Get Talley and O'Connor guide to physical examination and history taking.

[leviathan]

I got Bates from the library. I ended up just studying from lecture notes/powerpoints.

[Karma]

Bates is kind of the gold standard for this no? and I don't think there's any other book as complete for physical examination.

 

Anyways, that's the book they made us buy for our 4 clinical skills classes.

[Lactic Folly]

I don't know if Bates is the gold standard.. depends for what purpose. It is aimed at a wider audience, including nursing students and other health care professionals. I believe Talley and O'Connor is the book recommended for internal medicine residents. However, as I wanted something more basic yet comprehensive, I selected Epstein after comparing the different books available at our library - I liked its format best.

 

Here, these are links to Ian's reviews:

 

Talley and O'Connor

http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15367

 

Bates

http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15344

 

And some pocket guides (not textbooks):

http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15365

http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15366

 

Also, much information on clinical examination and physical examination is available on the web for free. Check out the UCSD website:

http://meded.ucsd.edu/clinicalmed/

[leviathan]

Bates is kind of the gold standard for this no? and I don't think there's any other book as complete for physical examination.

 

Anyways, that's the book they made us buy for our 4 clinical skills classes.

I wasn't too impressed with Bates, hence my skipping out and just using lecture notes. It was a bit too basic and as lactic said, probably directed more a generic book for all medical professions.

[Karma]

I didn't get the impression it's directed to all the medical professions.

 

I haven't seen the other books you've mentionned, but I like Bates. I'm going to look at the ones you've mentionned, maybe they are better after all. If it's the case, why did I spend so much money on Bates?? grrrr

[thebouque]

Bates is too simplistic and it's riddled with mistakes. It's not a good book for a medical student. Also, the neuro and musculoskeletal sections are terrible.

[apache]

AHAHAHAHAHAhHHHH physical exam examination on FRIDAY

[Renin]

Bates sucks.

[rogerroger]

Swartz is pretty good.

 

But to be honest, the best resource I have found for physical exams are the Jarvis video series. If you are at UT these videos are available for FREE online through the library website located at - http://main.library.utoronto.ca/eir/EIRdetail.cfm?Resources__ID=711387&T=R&FID=

 

Also if you are at UT the ASCM videos are really good too. If you know the videos inside out then I think you will have no problem with the preclerk level stuff.

[Lactic Folly]

Second Swartz, as I was trying to decide between it and Epstein. If I remember correctly, Swartz is more narrative, and has more on eliciting the history, whereas Epstein has more summary boxes and bullet points.

 

I haven't seen the other books you've mentionned, but I like Bates. I'm going to look at the ones you've mentionned, maybe they are better after all. If it's the case, why did I spend so much money on Bates?? grrrr

 

If you like Bates and use it, that's the important thing. People learn differently and prefer different books.. in my opinion, it matters less what resource you use, as long as you use it and learn from it.

[ubcredfox]

"Macleod's Clinical Examination" is probably the best physical exam text I have ever read. It is concise, full of important anatomy (not irrelevant minutiae) and covers what you need to know. I would really recommend this to everyone, as not many people in North America have heard of it (it seems).

 

You could also read the "Rational Clinical Exam" series from JAMA, but this really covers specific clinical topics (e.g. is it ascites? is this meningitis?)

[rogerroger]

"Macleod's Clinical Examination" is probably the best physical exam text I have ever read. It is concise, full of important anatomy (not irrelevant minutiae) and covers what you need to know. I would really recommend this to everyone, as not many people in North America have heard of it (it seems).

 

You could also read the "Rational Clinical Exam" series from JAMA, but this really covers specific clinical topics (e.g. is it ascites? is this meningitis?)

 

Yeah, you are right about Macleod's, that book was all the rage with the Scandinavian meds I was with this summer. It also looked pretty good to me although I only skimed it.

[lostintime]

Is Bates that bad? I like the pictures in it and they use simple language haha. It is a bit too much detail, but still better than going back to my notes and reviewing stuff.

[Lactic Folly]

It was recommended to us too, but we've just tried other books that we like better.