Clinical examination videos

Video demonstrations of clinical examinations offer a fantastic opportunity to see them being done slickly by experienced practitioners. This can be a great way to acquire new skills or to polish up ones you already know. American universities were the first to put such videos on the web, but some British institutions are now jumping on the bandwagon.

St George's, University of London, hosts a Clinical Skills Online website (www.elu.sgul.ac.uk/cso/). It shows a number of basic examinations in high quality Quicktime or Windows media (AVI) format. It also demonstrates a variety of clinical skills from venepuncture to catheterisation. This site looks well suited to students in their first clinical year, but a lack of specialty specific examinations such as orthopaedic or neurological may disappoint those in later years.

Ask Doctor Clarke (www.askdoctorclarke.com) provides not only videos but a whole …