Clinical Examination

Becoming a physician involves the acquisition of both knowledge and skills. With the ever-increasing emphasis on the accumulation of facts, some may doubt that recent medical school graduates have adequate basic skills. In this era of high-technology diagnosis, the often-heard statement that "the patient's history and physical examination provide over 90 percent of the information needed to arrive at a correct diagnosis" may soon become obsolete. Would any intern risk diagnosing lobar pneumonia or ankylosing spondylitis solely on the basis of the history and physical examination?