Clinical Problem-Based Learning: A Workbook for Integrating Basic and Clinical Science

One distinct memory of my vestal clinical year is that of being in awe of a certain professor who could obtain a pertinent history, rapidly and efficiently perform a detailed examination (often homing in on systems that did not seem relevant), invoke bedside diagnostic maneuvers either not found or found only in fine print in the physical diagnosis books, and then construct an elaborate (and usually correct) explanation for the patient's symptoms, even going so far as to predict the appearance of the chest x-ray. I recall being somewhat discouraged (as we trooped over to radiology to witness the fulfillment of the prophecy) because our textbooks— though extremely helpful about specific disease entities and the pathophysiology of symptoms—provided little clue to this intuitive, almost spiritual process that we witnessed at the bedside.

This delightful book would have been most reassuring had it been available. It is an outgrowth of a