The required Physical Diagnosis Course for second year medical student is an introduction to clinical medicine. Students will learn the knowledge and skills essential for performing a medical history and physical examination. The Course emphasizes patient interviewing, acquiring a medical data base, and performing a comprehensive physical examination. Lectures and reading assignments emphasize core concepts. Special sessions are used to optimize teaching of concepts in several subject areas. Over the entire semester, close interaction occurs between students and physician preceptors. Groups of four students are assigned to two faculty tutors who will guide their introduction to history taking, examination, and case write-ups. While there is a final practical examination, acquiring and refining clinical skills are lifelong processes for any physician.
Course Objectives
Develop skills in medical interviewing that allow for establishing rapport and gathering accurate and complete information while maintaining patient comfort and dignity.
Acquire and hone the knowledge and skills to perform a complete physical examination, including a beginning appreciation for distinguishing normal from abnormal.
Learn to present an organized, thorough case history in both written and oral form.
Develop sensitivity for each patient which requires insight into several areas: "who is he?", "why is she ill now?", "how is he dealing with illness?", and "what troubles her the most?"
Recognize that this is an introduction to the medical history and physical examination. There is no expectation of mastery by the end of the course.
Develop an excitement for clinical medicine and patient encounters that carries over into third year clerkships and beyond.
