Book, Simplified Neurological Examination 6/21[LS]

Many medical students and resident physicians think that the neurological exam is extremely complicated and difficult (and sometimes scary!). This is because they have difficulty remembering what to do, they are not sure what they are looking for, they do not know how to describe what they find or what that find means. The purpose of this book is to provide a simple framework that allows the medical student or resident to perform an objective neurological examination. It explains what to do – pointing out common problems and errors – what you might find, and then talks about what the findings might indicate. However, just as you cannot learn to drive by reading a manual, this book cannot replace conventional bedside teaching or clinical experience, and I hope it encourages you to see patients. Simplified Neurological Examination aims to provide advice on your examination technique, to ensure that your clinical findings are robust, in order to help you analyze your findings, to lead you to an anatomical or syndromal diagnosis. Inevitably, when trying to simplify the range of neurological findings and their interpretation, not all possible situations can be predicted. This work has been designed to accommodate most common situations and to try to alert you to common pitfalls. However, even then, there will be occasions when the conclusions will be incorrect. Neurology is still a very clinical specialty, meaning the core clinical skills of history taking and neurological examination remain essential when making a diagnosis – in fact, many neurological diagnoses depend entirely on clinical assessment alone. Developing these skills takes time, but it will be very rewarding for you as a doctor and very beneficial for your patients. Simplified Neurological Examination will provide an excellent basis for acquiring the skills necessary for the neurological examination and an introduction to the thought processes necessary for its interpretation.