Why this physician teaches first-year medical students
I teach first-year medical students how to take a medical history and perform physical exams on patients.
These skills are the foundation of medicine. The history and physical exam (plus a few basic tests) are time-tested methods for diagnosing disease. Using these tools, a skilled physician can reach an accurate diagnosis more often than not.
We humans share a standard range of symptoms. Pain, weight loss, fever, cough, abdominal complaints: They are …