What doctors learn when you open up and say "Aah"
Most of us probably do not think twice about getting a physical exam. We get up on the table and do what the doctor asks us to. Take a deep breath, look at the light.
For most doctors, the well-worn routine is also second nature, but for most doctors, that was not always the case. Physicians had to carefully learn the procedure for each part of the battery of tests that make up a physical.
First-year medical students at the University of Minnesota have been undergoing tests on these basic exam skills this month.
Dr. Jon Hallberg is one of their teachers and he is our regular medical analyst here on All things Considered. As a physician in family medicine at the U of M, he is responsible for examining the examiners.
In a time when there are an increasing number of high-tech diagnostics tools available, All Things Considered host Tom Crann asked Dr. Jon Hallberg what a doctor can learn when you stick your tongue out and say "Ahh".
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