Description
Atlas of Adult Physical Diagnosis
Sir William Osler, perhaps the finest clinician and
teacher of the 19th and 20th centuries, wanted his epi
taph to read, “I taught medical students on the wards.”
In this, he states what each of us as practicing and
teaching physicians already know: that one of the most
challenging and rewarding endeavors is being a teacher
of medicine. The teacher himself must be a student of
medicine: intellectually curious, exploring new meth
ods, scientifically questioning current methods and
studying data. Furthermore, the clinician must be a role
model for the student physician; he must use the princi
ples he teaches day to day in his other Oslerian charged
roles. All this must be done in a way that keeps a pa
tient-centered focus and in a manner so that every stu
dent receives a reproducible curriculum. Perhaps there
is no other set of knowledge in teaching or practice that
requires as much hands-on, patient-centered instruc
tion as the physical examination. This set of skills re
quires a clinician and teacher who in addition to having
clinical expertise and experience in the field, must be
able to be a coach and to provide the student with de
tailed feedback.
