Observation and Inspection

Source: Jaideep S. Talwalkar, MD, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT

Observation and inspection is fundamental to physical examination and begins at the first point of contact with a patient. While observation and inspection are often used interchangeably, observation is a general term that refers to the careful use of one's senses to gain information. Inspection is an act limited to what one can observe visually, and when referring to physical examination, typically refers to findings on the surface of the body, rather than to behaviors. Skilled clinicians utilize all of their senses to assist with gaining an understanding of their patients, relying on vision, touch (percussion and palpation), and hearing (percussion and auscultation) primarily. Smell can also provide important diagnostic information during the patient encounter (e.g., personal hygiene, substance use, or metabolic diseases). Fortunately the sense of taste is largely a historical relic in medicine, though it is interesting to note that diabetes mellitus was diagnosed for many centuries by the sweet taste of the urine. Through experience, clinicians develop an important sixth sense - the gut instinct - that can only be gained through deliberate practice of clinical skills on thousands of patients over many years. The clinician's gut instinct, which is based largely on bedside observations, has been shown to be a strong predictor of serious illness. This video and the others in the clinical skills video collection are steps on the way to learning this level of mastery.