Customer Reviews

Textbook of Physical Diagnosis: History and Examination

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a second year med student who was completely clueless about physical diagnosis until I got this book/CD package. Our classes and preceptor sessions were just way too disorganized for me to really learn how to perform a physical exam. This package is a bit [costly], but trust me, it's worth every penny for the CD alone. The CD has video of a complete 2-hour physical examination, including male and female exams. The author walks you through each step in great detail as he examines the patient. The camera angles are up-close, so you actually get to see what's going on (in fact, you can see better than you would next to a live preceptor). 2 hours watching this CD taught me way more than hundreds of hours spent in class, reading textbooks, and with preceptors. Best of all, I can watch the video over and over again, until I really feel like I have a good grasp of it- without worrying about taking up too much of the patient's time or making a fool of myself in front of the preceptor. If you're still struggling with physical diagnosis- e.g., wondering exactly where your stethoscope goes or how to palpate an abdomen, etc.- get this book NOW!

Im disappointed that I did not have this book sooner in my student career. For the last 2 years we have been using Bates and quite frankly Bates is okay for the most part but it leaves out details as to why the test is done.

The pictures are better in Swartz. There are sections on differential diags and pathophysiology with each test. This is an amazing textbook.

I found out about this text from a visiting professor from the UK. For some reason all the visiting profs we have had from the UK have a certain skill which seems to be a lot better than what we are taught here in the US. They have an EXCELLENT grip on their H&P and treat medicine like an art. I asked which book they were using over there and they said Swartz and the other one by Epstein (also gold).

If you feel the Bates is insufficient check this book out.

This book is an exceptional text for students of Physical Diagnosis as well as practitioners because of its thorough discussion of the patient-doctor interaction. Dr. Swartz's humanisism shines through each chapter as he reviews the appropriate methods for asking questions and carrying out the physical exam while maintaining the dignity and modesty of the patient at all times. The pictures are beautiful -- full color photographs of pathology and helpful diagrams that are useful for medical students. Chapters on Nutrition and Cultual Diversity are admirable and reflect the sensitivity of the author to these important but underappreciated topics. The CD is an unbelievable add-on! It is the most outstanding addition to any book I have ever seen -- with a thorough demonstration of the full physical exam, the CD is a stand-alone gem! No medical student should be educated without Dr. Swartz's lessons beautifully assembled on this CD. I watched it every time before I saw a patient for the first few weeks of seeing patients and I felt very prepared. Thank you, Dr. Swartz.

I am a first year med student who used the Swartz book for my physical diagnosis course (the class recommended Bates, but I found the material to be too basic; one would NOT be able to refer to that book once they passed introductory level). Swartz has great pictures of pathologic diseases, and also includes pictures to guide you through the actual physical (those pictures are taken from the CD that shows you step-by-step how to do a physical). One of the main things I found refreshing was that he tells you when some procedures are unnecessary because they just don't yield much information. Swartz tells you what to do, what to look for, how to accomplish both, and then he SHOWS you with the CD. I personally loved this book, and I will refer to it (and the CD) to freshen up on the techniques that I have learned. My teacher even said that she still refers to Swartz! Definitely a great buy.

This is the best book on physical diagnosis (4th edition). It is clearly written with great color photographs. All of my friends have used it and love it also. The new CD-ROM which is included with the text is a really nice feature. It is about 2 hours long and shows the complete physical examination of both the man and the woman. It is really cool since it also shows the internal parts of the exam (retina and tympanic membrane, for example). There are also clear graphics and picture-in-picture added to the CD-ROM for clarity of various aspects of the examination. The CD-ROM is easy to navigate, and you can jump from area to area easily. I have looked at all the other books, and none comes close to Swartz. Get it; you won't be sorry!

Best book I've read about physical diagnosis. Even though the book is long, it is actually a quick read, including numerous useful tables and graphes. What sets this book apart from the rest lies in the explanation of underlying pathophysiology of various signs and findings thus making them easy to remember. The CD ROM is also useful and quick if one simply want to learn the basics of physical diagnosis. This book is a good reference because it's so comprehensive compared to others.

This is the best book on physical diagnosis. My professor strongly recommended it, and she was right! The new 2002 edition (Fourth Edition) is a beautifully illustrated book with a great CD-ROM which is really useful to watch the whole examination. Dr. Swartz is a great teacher; wish he could teach us personally! Buy this book!

It was a pleasure to read this book after 15 years far from medical school. The approach of the author, accounting for the bio-psycho-social aspects of diagnosis, makes the book a state of the art on physical examination

This book is easy to read and has tons of pictures and charts which are easy to learn from. The downfall of this book is the actual written text. It is quite limited, in my opinion, and provides little information about the actual things you are diagnosing. On the other hand, the pics and the charts make diagnosis of said lesions easy. If your goal is to diagnose lesions, then this is your book. If your goal is to learn about the lesions and know how to treat them, then this is not your book.

The CD that comes with this book is very handy while learning exams. I have not really used the book however because Bates seems to be the standard that most schools are using.