- Joined
- Aug 16, 2016
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i'm about to finish my 4th year in med school (our course is 6 years)
one thing that really irritates me is the way physical exam is so glorified and they keep telling us hypothetical stuff about murmurs and stuff (murmur timing, change with position and maneuvers and such) when in reality, hearing a murmur & catching it is the only feasible thing i've seen.
it is extremely difficult to pinpoint the "timing" (mid-pan-early- systolic/diastolic) and it carries basically ZERO diagnostic weight..cuz in the end..you will ALWAYS do an echo when there's a murmur/ suspected cardiac abnormality/ symptoms.
such physical tests are really extremely unreliable and are never used to confirm/rule-out a diagnosis
don't even get me started on chest percussion for "dullness" in pneumonia..or abdominal shifting dullness for ascites (which is +ve in half the people i've tried on)
i mean is there really any point in these test? or are they just a waste of time..after all, i've never seen a Dr. apply half the physical tests we learn.
anyone care to disagree, or share how it is in your medical schools?
one thing that really irritates me is the way physical exam is so glorified and they keep telling us hypothetical stuff about murmurs and stuff (murmur timing, change with position and maneuvers and such) when in reality, hearing a murmur & catching it is the only feasible thing i've seen.
it is extremely difficult to pinpoint the "timing" (mid-pan-early- systolic/diastolic) and it carries basically ZERO diagnostic weight..cuz in the end..you will ALWAYS do an echo when there's a murmur/ suspected cardiac abnormality/ symptoms.
such physical tests are really extremely unreliable and are never used to confirm/rule-out a diagnosis
don't even get me started on chest percussion for "dullness" in pneumonia..or abdominal shifting dullness for ascites (which is +ve in half the people i've tried on)
i mean is there really any point in these test? or are they just a waste of time..after all, i've never seen a Dr. apply half the physical tests we learn.
anyone care to disagree, or share how it is in your medical schools?