practicing the physical exam w/o a partner?

[mouseybrown]

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i have to do a timed physical exam.

my problem is i can't find anyone to practice with. no one has time or they have other people, and my program said they would find someone but never did.

so all i have to work with are videos, a book, and..i guess myself. anyone have any advice?

 

[Richspiders07]

i have to do a timed physical exam.

my problem is i can't find anyone to practice with. no one has time or they have other people, and my program said they would find someone but never did.

so all i have to work with are videos, a book, and..i guess myself. anyone have any advice?

You should totally be sketchy and post an add on craigslist and pay someone like $20 for 2hrs of their time.

 

[phospho]

is this a U.S. medical school you're talking about?

 

[mouseybrown]

yeah its a us school , and the idea of using craig's list--i'm sure people use it for everything but..not for me. :}

why, are international schools different? don't most first years do some kind of clinical sort of thing in thier first year?

 

[little pebble]

I know that when we had a test on the physical exam, I did work with someone to make sure I could physically do everything, but after that I just ran through the steps over and over in my head.

Do you have a friend or family member who could let you work on them for a couple of hours? Once you know what you're doing, you just need to make sure you know the order cold.

 

[Impromptu]

When you ask friends, be sure to let them know that it is professional and that you would be happy to have a chaperone present. This isn't some cheesy way to see someone with their clothes off.

 

[Richspiders07]

Are you at a school affiliated w/ an undergraduate campus? You should email their pre-med advisor and see if there's a pre-med who wants to act as a patient and in return learn the physical exam. If you can practice it AND teach it... you've got it doubly down.

 

[HPSPpayissues]

Are you at a school affiliated w/ an undergraduate campus? You should email their pre-med advisor and see if there's a pre-med who wants to act as a patient and in return learn the physical exam. If you can practice it AND teach it... you've got it doubly down.

👍
Make sure to pick a hot girl to go over breast exams and such. You might even get some afterward!

 

[Law2Doc]

i have to do a timed physical exam.

my problem is i can't find anyone to practice with. no one has time or they have other people, and my program said they would find someone but never did.

so all i have to work with are videos, a book, and..i guess myself. anyone have any advice?

Do you know any clinicians/attendings? There's likely a hospital full of people willing to be examined and learned upon by anyone wearing a white coat.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

First-year physical exams at my school was an exercise in seeing if the student knew the motions and could describe their relevance. Chances are you won't be expected to find any pathology. Grab a pillow off your bed and practice your moves.

 

[mouseybrown]

First-year physical exams at my school was an exercise in seeing if the student knew the motions and could describe their relevance. Chances are you won't be expected to find any pathology. Grab a pillow off your bed and practice your moves.

thats the best ive heard so far..it def helps. not so good for percussing, tho.
lol.

as far as the other ideas, too far from family and not an undergrad attached the the school. oh well.

 

[Dirt]

Yeah we do the following at my school

1. SPs when they are assigned
2. Classmates
3. Friends/family
4. There are numerous free clinics that you can get experience at, usually not the most efficient practice though
5. Build a friend out of pillows

 

[DonStracci]

Stuffed animal or pillow worked for me. Practice to the point that you are very confident in your steps. Obviously there will be things you are 'pretending' to do whilst doing a PE on a stuffed cow... but you certainly can learn the order of the steps quite well.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

i have to do a timed physical exam.

my problem is i can't find anyone to practice with. no one has time or they have other people, and my program said they would find someone but never did.

so all i have to work with are videos, a book, and..i guess myself. anyone have any advice?

You can't find a classmate in the same shoes? Pre-clinical years are a good time to play doctor on each other (and not in a sexy way)

When we had our physical diagnosis course, a bunch of us just walked thru the complete exam on each other - giving feedback and tips at the same time. Worked great.

 

[Tiger26]

Just go through it mentally, or on yourself, and remember to do the exam head-to-toe. All you really have to do is go through the motions. Seriously, you could be thinking whatever you want and completely ignorant to any abnormalities as long as it looks like your doing the right thing.

 

[SDN2013]

i have to do a timed physical exam.

my problem is i can't find anyone to practice with. no one has time or they have other people, and my program said they would find someone but never did.

so all i have to work with are videos, a book, and..i guess myself. anyone have any advice?

why not have a three person group? Take turns, the person observing could give advice to the person performing.