Description:

Teaching the Physical Exam in the Modern Hospital

Brian Garibaldi, MD
Director, Johns Hopkins Biocontainment Unit
Associate Professor of Medicine


Learning Objectives

1. Describe the challenges of teaching the PE in the modern hospital.

2. Demonstrate the use of the 5-minute moment to teaching physical exam skills.

3. Demonstrate the use of the 10-minute moment to assess and teach physical exam skills.


"In an era where time is scarce and technology seems to dominate..., we are in danger of neglecting the value of the physical examination...[In Paley, et al.] the single modality contributing most to diagnosis was history [and] some 61% of diagnoses were made by history and examination, without recourse to laboratory tests or imaging...The presence of a physical examination makes a positive contribution to clinical care, its absence compromises patient safety...New curricula for physical examination should be developed and focus on maneuvers or signs with best supporting evidence of value..." 

Brian Garibaldi & Andrew Elder. J R Coll Physicians Erdinb, 2021.