ALS Lecture 3 - Introduction to General Examination and Clinical Reasoning DONE Flashcards
health literacy skills give people the motivation and ability to
access, understand and use info to promote and maintain good health
43% of adults are below
expected literacy level at 16
system review general questions
weight loss, night sweats, any lumps, fatigue, generally unwell, appetite
system review cardiorespiratory questions
chest pain, breathlessness, PND, oedema, palpitations, cough, wheeze, haemoptysis
system review GI questions
abdo pain, swallowing, indigestion, n/v, bowels, tenesmus, melaena, blood
system review genitourinary questions
incontinence, dysuria, nocturia, polyuria, hesitancy, terminal dribble, discharge, menses
system review neurological questions
seizures, faints, headache, paraesthesia/numbness, limb weakness, speech issues, psychiatric symptoms
system review MSK questions
pain, stiffness, swelling, change through day, loss of function
clinical reasoning (5 steps)
- symptom
- dds
- distinguishing features
- explanations for features
- question to gather info
how do experts make a diagnosis when the presentation is familiar (easy)? (3)
intuition, pattern recognition, pathognomonic presentations
how do experts make a diagnosis when the presentation is more complex (hard)? (3)
deliberate analytical approach, extensive info gathering, consider many factors
things needed to implement clinical reasoning (4)
- purposeful info gathering
- ask qs about DDs
- summarise
- red flags
factors contributing to clinical reasoning (6)
epidemiology, meta-cognitive awareness, surgical sieve, communication skills, hypothetico-deductive reasoning, pathophysiology
epidemiology
older ppl more likely to get degenerative conditions, cancer, whereas younger people more likely to get infections
pathophysiology
pathology of body systems
hypothetico-deductive reasoning
ask Qs to rule things in and out, narrow DDs
surgical sieve
V - vascular I - infective/inflammatory T - trauma A - autoimmune M - metabolic I - iatrogenic N - neoplastic
C - congenital
D - degenerative
E - endocrine/environmental
F - functional
metacognitive awareness
have insight into where errors and biases may happen in your thinking
general physical examination order
hands, eyes, mouth, neck, axillae, groin, ankle
for general physical examination, the bed should be at ________ degrees
45
when looking for abnormalities, we should always look from…
end of the bed
when examining the hands, we should look for
tremor, muscle wasting, peripheral cyanosis, splinter haemorrhage, clubbing, palmar erythema, capillary refill time, hydration status
splinter haemorrhage
tiny blood clot under nail, caused by trauma or infective endocarditis
clubbing
pt put hands in heart shape, diamond gap, caused by lung cancer, infective endocarditis, cirrhosis, IBD, pulmonary sepsis, etc.