PD H&P 1

PD H&P 2

PD Final Reflection

During both semesters of Physical Diagnosis, I have strengthened my skills in history taking and in writing thorough physical examinations. Comparing my H&Ps from both PD 1 and PD 2 highlights a significant growth in my clinical reasoning, organization, and examination techniques. In PD 1, my H&P focused primarily on gathering all relevant details pertinent to the patient, often prioritizing completeness over clinical relevance. One weakness during this semester was the inclusion of information that was not always pertinent to the patient’s presenting complaint. However, a strength of this approach was the development of a comprehensive and detailed history, which allowed me to better understand the patient as a whole. Another area for improvement during PD 1 was my physical examination skills. At that stage, my examinations were limited due to a narrower scope of learned techniques and I did not always emphasize a thorough or targeted assessment. As I progressed into PD 2 and learned more physical exams, I became more confident in performing compressive and focused examinations. I began assessing patients more holistically and intentionally applying physical exams that were relevant to their chief complaints. 

By PD 2, I demonstrated improvement in writing a more refined history, comprehensive review of systems, and a detailed physical examination. With the introduction of assessments and differential diagnoses, my clinical reasoning continued to develop as I learned to formulate patient history and physical exam findings to support clinical decision making. A strength I gained from PD 2 was my ability to connect relevant findings and generate diagnoses and management plans accordingly.  A weakness that I also found was developing a focused yet broad list of differential diagnoses that can be supported and appropriately ruled out based on the patient’s clinical presentation. Moving forward, I am looking forward to sharpening my differential diagnoses, perfecting my physical exams, and documenting relevant information pertinent to the patient’s case. 

Overall, I believe I have made much progress throughout both semesters of Physical Diagnosis, contributing significantly to my academic and clinical growth as a future healthcare provider.