Physical examination checklist for medical students: can less be more?

As part of their training, medical students and postgraduates are usually required to demonstrate competency in conducting physical examination skills for graduation and advancement. This is typically done by observing them perform a checklist of physical examination maneuvers in real or standardized patients. It is important that medical educators emphasize the importance of the art of physical examination to their learners and encourage them to master it. Sir William Osler once said: “Observe, record, tabulate, communicate. Use your five senses. Learn to see, learn to hear, learn to feel, learn to smell, and know that by practice alone you can become expert.” Nevertheless, a question is often asked by medical students and residents: are all the physical examination skills traditionally taught in medical schools as important now as they used to be in the past?