Stanford Medicine 25

07/25/2025

Why is the number 25 part of our name?

It's symbolic! We started with 25 key physical exam techniques — not because there are only 25 worth knowing, but because we had to start somewhere. Think of "25" as a call to action — to start, learn, master and then carry those skills to the bedside with confidence!

We're also always adding new information to our channels, so we continue to expand far beyond our original list of 25 physical exams. See the growing list here: https://stanford.io/44VBU14

07/23/2025

Proper medical draping is just one of many opportunities to bring comfort and healing to patients during physical exams, and it can also influence technical aspects of the exams.

For example, listening to the heart or palpating a skin lesion over clothes could make it difficult to identify important clinical findings.

This Stanford Medicine 25 blog post explores different perspectives, insights and tips on proper draping. Read it here:

Check out tips for patient-centered medical draping to enhance comfort, dignity, and exam quality during physical exams.

07/21/2025

If you're passionate about bedside medicine, physical exam techniques and the patient-physician connection, you've come to the right place! Here's a quick look at what Stanford Medicine 25 is all about.

More about us and our mission: https://stanford.io/4kudBfe

07/17/2025

Most causes of back pain are related to either the bone contacting nerves as they exit the vertebral canal or a strain of the lumbar muscles —but it's important to confirm this with a physical exam.

Knowing the proper techniques for the physical exam can also reveal more serious causes, such as malignancy, infection, inflammatory arthritis and more.

See our how-to guide for inspection, palpation, provocative tests, the neuro exam and more: https://stanford.io/2VAoTDP

07/15/2025

Much can be learned by simply looking at and listening to the infant! In this video, pediatric cardiologist Tom Collins demonstrates the cardiovascular exam of a newborn and provides a realistic reproduction of some heart murmurs that might be encountered in early infancy.

Dr. Tom Collins, provides a overview of the newborn cardiovascular examination, highlighting the importance of early detection and assessment of cardiac health in infants. The examination identifies congenital heart defects and structural abnormalities in newborns through a systematic approach of ob...

07/10/2025

Palpation and percussion are important techniques for identifying an enlarged spleen. However, evaluating splenomegaly is notoriously difficult and embarrassingly easy to miss! This is, in part, because the spleen enlarges in the inferior anteromedial direction, sometimes as far as the RLQ.

Remember that the spleen can become very enlarged and fragile. Therefore, overly aggressive palpation may cause injury. Let the spleen palpate your fingers and not the other way around!

Read more in our guide: https://stanford.io/3F9D12Y

07/02/2025

Check out these quick notes on the low back physical exam!

For more tips on inspection, palpation, provocative tests, the neuro exam and awareness of more concerning causes of back pain: https://stanford.io/2VAoTDP

06/30/2025

The physical exam plays a critical role in clinically evaluating foot and ankle pain, which is common in the outpatient setting. Knowing basic maneuvers and physical signs can help assess the presence and the severity of lesions in the osteo-ligamentous structures of the foot.

Visit https://stanford.io/2R5m5Ql to read more in this guide from Stanford Medicine 25, which covers:

- Foot and ankle anatomy
- Tips for inspection and palpation
- Common causes of pain, including ankle sprain, ATFL rupture, achilles tendonopathy, plantar fasciitis and more.

06/26/2025

Meet Stanford Medicine 25's Samantha Wang, a clinical associate professor within the division of hospital medicine at Stanford Department of Medicine. She is the Educational Director of Stanford Wards for internal medicine residents and co-directs the residency program's Clinical Teaching Pathway of Distinction. Her interests within medical education include clinical reasoning, bedside teaching, diversity and equity, and racial justice.

06/24/2025

The Neuron - AI Newsletter explores how the rise of ambient AI for medical documentation during patient visits could help bring physicians and patients closer together:

Microsoft's Dragon Copilot and challenger Abridge are battling to solve healthcare's documentation crisis with AI that automatically transcribes doctor-patient conversations, potentially addressing the burnout driving 40% of doctors to consider leaving medicine.

06/12/2025

In this Stanford Medicine 25 video, Stanford neurologist Kathleen Poston teaches the exam to diagnose Parkinson's disease & to monitor response to treatment or progression of disease.

See the full video:

This video is brought to you by the Stanford Medicine 25 to teach you the exam to diagnose Parkinson's Disease confidently as well as monitor response to tre...

06/06/2025

As this article from Medscape reminds us, patients' memories of physician interactions often extend far beyond their treatment. One of the many reasons why empathetic communication, especially in times of serious illness, matters!

Here’s what clinicians should avoid saying to patients facing serious illness.