Books for Clinical Medicine/Physical Diagnosis

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Books Preferred for Physical Examination Skills

  • Bates

    Votes: 27 50.0%

  • Schwartz

    Votes: 11 20.4%

  • DeGowin

    Votes: 5 9.3%

  • Mosby

    Votes: 8 14.8%

  • Seidel

    Votes: 3 5.6%
  • Total voters
    54
D

DOindahouse

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whats teh best one to get, i seen a few, fishenback or something
what is the best easiesti one to use>?
thanks
 
I use the Lange Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests. Not sure if it's considered the authority, but I like it.
 
Has anyone used this on the wards? Someone picked it up for me at a conference. I wanted to know how useful it was.
 
The first time I saw someone using that book on the wards, I thought it was a Bible. It was a combination of the way the book looks, the way my classmate was holding it, the fact that he was very religious, and that he was just about to present a patient formally for the first time. I thought he was going to start praying.

That does nothing to do with your question, but it was funny at the time.
 
alphaholic06 said:
Has anyone used this on the wards? Someone picked it up for me at a conference. I wanted to know how useful it was.
Click to expand...

You'll find that the Merck Manual isn't well suited for physicians. It is more an allied-health reference book. Sure, it might answer most of your questions, but it was never aimed at physicians to use.

Q, DO
 
I am currently using Bates Guide to PE and History Taking and not finding it as helpful or comprehensive as I thought it would be. A lot of the details about how a perform a thorough physical exam are ommitted or quickly brushed over.

Do you all recommend any other Physical exam/history taking text besides Bates?

Thanks
 
textbook of physical diagnosis, history and examination, 4th ed. by swartz

good photos, drawings, and info. kind of pricey though, around $70, i'd buy it again.
 
They use the book Clinical Examination, by Talley & OConnor in Oz. I don't use it much any more, but was good when I was learning the basic clinical skills. It is in the 4th edition and has pretty good detail about the meanings of bizarre nail changes in such-and-such disease. It's on my list of top 5 must-have books for medicine at my uni, though.


There's another series, called Lecture Notes, which has a clinical skills book. I've heard people speak highly of that one, but I've never used it myself.
 
Swartz is good. It comes with a complete physical for men / women laid out on CD. You can watch the thing on your computer. Very good review before hitting the clinic.

It also seems to be a little less basic than Bates. My school req'd Bates, but I went with Swartz because of what I heard on SDN and I don't regret it. The pics are better, as well. All real pics, no drawings.
 
Anyone have any experience using this physical diagnosis book? I'm thoroughly unimpressed with the depth (or lack thereof) Bates goes into.
 
Have you checked out Sapira? I quite liked it, lots of depth, and sections are coded as to med student level, resident level, attending level of information etc.
 
I plan on purchasing DeGowin; I left Bates behind in St. Vincent. Bates was a pain (for me, at least). DeGowin goes into patient symptoms, and what examinations you should do to rule out certain things.

Brian
MS-3, St. George's University
 
also,
as good supplements to look at/borrow from your friendly neighborhood medical library (dont buy, i'd say).

great images of common and not so common findings (they're atlases)
1) M. Afzal Mir. : Atlas of clinical diagnosis

2) Kevin J. Knoop: Atlas of Emergency Medicine

3)Charles Forbes: Color Atlas and Text of Clinical Medicine
 
Stanton Glantz "Bedside Cardiology" if you want to kick it up a notch. For instance, there's a separate chapter on how to take blood pressure with many pitfalls and how they affect readings. Well-written and concise book, and recommended if you want to do cardiology or be a physical exam deity. 🙂
 
If you really want to learn from a master of physical diagnosis, try Sapira's Art & Science of Bedside Diagnosis. It's not for the beginner, and it makes Bates look like a kindergarten book. It's filled with wonderful anecdotes about physical signs/etc. Bates has lots of nice pics which show the steps for learners, which is important when you're starting out. Read the adulation on amazon.com.
 
Mumpu said:
Stanton Glantz "Bedside Cardiology" if you want to kick it up a notch. For instance, there's a separate chapter on how to take blood pressure with many pitfalls and how they affect readings. Well-written and concise book, and recommended if you want to do cardiology or be a physical exam deity. 🙂
Click to expand...

Stanton Glanz is not even a physician. Don't get me wrong, I think he is a great member of our faculty in the Department of Cardiology and is one of the leaders of the anti-tobaco movement - but I wouldn't look to him to learn the physical exam. However, I wouldnt' be surprised if he wrote a good book based on consultations with members of the Cardiology Department here.
 
That's because I'm a ******. 😱 The author is Jules Constant. And it is a very good book.

Glantz wrote Primer of Biostatistics which is extremely good but not about physical exam.

Where's my dunce hat? 🙂
 
Good site. Some of it may seen "obvious" to the casual observer but it takes an astute clinician to spot some of that stuff in the first place. If you're looking for something more substantial, I highly recommend "Color Atlas and Text of Clinical Medicine" by Forbes. (those Brits are a lot better at physical diagnosis than we are 🙄 ).

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...=lpr_g_1/104-1400362-9389568?v=glance&s=books

And because I'm so keen on auscultation, may I also recommend http://www.blaufuss.org
 
Can anyone tell me what pocket physical exam guides are out there and which ones are decent?

I know of Bates (June 2003), but that is the only one I've seen. Has anyone used this and thought it was worth the cost?

Thanks for all your responses!
 
Dr. J? said:
Can anyone tell me what pocket physical exam guides are out there and which ones are decent?

I know of Bates (June 2003), but that is the only one I've seen. Has anyone used this and thought it was worth the cost?

Thanks for all your responses!
Click to expand...


OK, I think I've found my answer. The above question was posted prior to these threads being merged.

DeGowin's Diagnostic Examination is just the book I was looking for - a bit too heavy to keep in the jacket, but small enough to put in the ol' book bag for quick access. Got it off E-bay and so far have been pretty impressed with the extra detail which I haven't seen elsewhere in the "pocket" physical exam guides.
 
i keep 'handbook of clinical skills' by jane dacre and peter kopelman (manson publishing) in my bag, and 'macleod's clinical examination' by john munro and ian campell on my shelf to read at a desk. there's one by gray and toghill which is basic and easy to read, great for getting your head round examinations at the beginning.
all british books! 😀
 
Another British book.. Clinical Examination by Epstein. Also has a pocket book version. Bates I found too lengthy to decipher.. Swartz was good, with its IPPA approach and patient-centred questioning, but it was in paragraph form.. I like the layout of Epstein and its boxes with questions to ask surrounding a given chief complaint.
 
why didnt even someone vote for degowin... imo that book is superior to the rest...
mosby is also good.
 
Kimberli Cox said:
Just not as easily available in the US, doesn't really fit into a lab coat pocket (which is important here).
Click to expand...

Degowin is amazing though. I always have it in my on-call bag so I can browse through it when I have some down time.
 
For morning report or attending rounds, JAMA Rational Clinical Examination (copyrighted 2009). Pairs well with any of your basic physical examination books.
 
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