Essential Examination, third edition

Five-star reviews:

Highly recommended for clinical medical students "I rarely write a rave review but this one is warranted. This textbook is AMAZING. It helped me do really well in my third year OSCE. It features all the core and specialties examinations and has a detailed list like description of all the steps you need to take to complete each examination. The best thing about this book is that it also has these summaries of key examination findings, and blank spaces for your own notes which make it even bettter than some of the other revision books out there." Amazon reviewer


Invaluable, best 'book' I have bought for a long time "Bought this to help with my ANP course and it's becoming invaluable. Love the way that it tells you exactly how the examination should be carried, why you are palpating/auscultating or percussing (extra information/potential findings) You then turn the page and it gives you differentials based on what you have found on your examination. There's room for your own notes as well. Love it!" Amazon reviewer

This book was a life saver! "This book really did help me with my OSCE exams in advanced practice. Would recommend to junior doctors and nurses completeing the advanced practice course." Amazon reviewer

I love it !!!! "I love the fact that this book is really condensed - has everything that you need to know about each examination in a couple of pages. Highly recommended to all medical students out there!" 2nd year UK medical student, on Amazon

Essential med school purchase! "Bought this for med school OSCEs. Best book I've bought so far and I've bought a LOT of books.
It has a list of things you should be doing and explains why you're doing them.
Easy to understand and we'll written." Amazon reviewer

It describes the examinations in a clear systematic manner which is easy to remember "Must have book for medical student. It describes the examinations in a clear systematic manner which is easy to remember. It includes aide memoires and tips for getting extra marks in OSCEs. Each examination is also concluded with notes on commonly asked questions by examiners. I have found this book to be a great help for OSCE revision." Amazon reviewer

Fantastic book!!! "This book is buy far the best purchase I have made at medical school. Provides markschemes for all of the clinical examinations AND info that is useful when preparing for the viva style quiz at the end of long osce stations" Amazon reviewer

Great book for overviews of examinations for my med school ... "Great book for overviews of examinations for my med school finals. It goes through the examinations step by step and has additional information on possible abnormal findings and viva questions and space for your own notes. Would 100% recommend" Amazon reviewer

Excellent purchase for clinical examination "Excellent for medical students (clinical years mainly). Gives the reasons for every sign we check for (useful for examiners' questions in OSCEs) and also gives differential diagnosis. Probably the best book for Clinical examinations. Was recommended for 3rd years by many 4th and final year medical students." Amazon reviewer

Differential diagnosis book "Excellent book for those nurses learning advanced skills" Amazon reviewer

The only book I used for OSCE revision! "This book provides a succinct and accurate guide to final year medical OSCEs.
The pages are normal paper texture allowing you to annotate with pen." Amazon reviewer

Extremely useful book "Good that it doesnt overlook basics like 'wash hands, introduce self' as it's all part of the exam." Amazon reviewer

Great revision buddy for finals "Would recommend to anyone as a good guide to finals Osce revision!"

Brilliant "Got me thru my CEPS for my training. No nonsense style, lets you get things done. Worth every penny!" Amazon reviewer

Would recomend "Very useful for OSCE Revision. succinct, accurate notes on each of the examinations." Amazon reviewer

Brilliant "The best and only book you need for undergraduate OSCE revision. Used this for my finals this year and it was brilliant, wish I'd come across it sooner actually. Can't recommend enough" Amazon reviewer

This book got me through my 4th year OSCE exams "Very detailed and also useful information to help with vivas for each examination at the end" Amazon reviewer

Brilliant book for any medical students getting ready for OSCEs "Brilliant book for any medical students getting ready for OSCEs. Covers all the core examinations in high detail and gives useful background information that could come up as questions during OSCE. Highly recommended and well worth the money!" Amazon reviewer

Go get one "Corresponds with OSCE practice and exam great for revision any medic or acp should not be without it" Amazon reviewer

Five Stars "The only book I used for examinations. It was sooo worth it! Especially for MSK exams." Amazon reviewer

Medical Student Essential! "The book you need to pass your OSCEs*.
*I passed my OSCEs." Amazon reviewer

Five Stars "A must for any medical student in the run up to exams." Amazon reviewer

Favourite OSCE examinations book "Perfect for undergraduate finals. Comprehensive and concise, definitely would recommend." Amazon reviewer

Five Stars "Have shown it to 5 student osteopaths - all who bought it immediately." Amazon reviewer

Great for Finals OSCE revision! "This is pretty much my bible for finals OSCE preparation. This covers all of the common systems in a step-by-step fashion, distilling things down to its essentials in a 'review' format. No unnecessary fluff.
If you're trying to learn a particular examination for the first time, maybe this isn't the best book. But if you're just trying to practice and get slick before your OSCE's, 'The Blue Book', as it is colloquially called at my medical school, is 100% the way to go.
Best if all is the concise short notes section that follows every examination. These are lists of differentials of certain examination findings, and common pathologies of that system, which are easy to learn, high-yield facts. This is the sort of stuff that you get asked on ward rounds and well worth spending a few extra minutes learning in order to impress your consultant!" Amazon reviewer

I bought the book primarily because it seemed to be perfect for what I needed it for "I am a second year medical student, and I bought this book on the recommendation of a fifth year medical student who was teaching me. I'm going into 3rd year in September, which marks the start of my 3 clinical years of the course. I had a chance to practice with it for a few weeks during my end of year placement. I bought the book primarily because it seemed to be perfect for what I needed it for (namely - using to practice examinations) and I wasn't disappointed. The size is great, and can fit easily into a folder or a large pocket (back in the days of the doctor's white coat it would have fit perfect). It is concise, so you don't feel like you have to read through loads of text to find what you want, plus the contents page is extremely useful for quickly finding what you need. I really like the use of diagrams in the book - there are no unnecessary diagrams, but when things would be better explained that way (e.g. dermatomes) they are used, and I found them extremely helpful. I also really liked the space given for personal notes - it is so much easier than having to try and cram notes around the text, and means that the relevant notes are next to the correct page. In summary, I would thoroughly recommend this for any medical student wanting an easy way to brush up on their examination techniques, and especially for newbies, as it guides you through the exam step-by-step." Amazon reviewer

Must have! "I love this book and use it a lot. It contains a huge amount of relevant information in an accessible format. It is concise, but that makes it perfect for quick reference when you are preparing for OSCEs. Particularly useful for practising with other students. Would highly recommend to anyone in their clinical years at medical school." Amazon reviewer

Would highly recommend this book! "This book is so good and perfect size to carry round the wards too! Breaks down all the examinations you need to know with great explanations, tables etc! Must have for medical students!" Third year medical student, reviewing on Amazon

I will be making [Essential Examination] a core text for my students. This will be the go-to guide to help them structure their approach to physical assessments.
The book is simple and easy to read/understand. I like the fact it provides a clear step-by-step structure to the assessment and examination of different body systems, with a few pages exploring key presentations and extra information to support clinical reasoning. Although it is not as in-depth as some of the other key texts out there such as McLeod or the Bates guide, it is nevertheless, a vital text to support students’ knowledge and understanding of the assessment process. The size of the book also means that it is easy for students to transport and keep with them out in clinical practice, meaning they can refer to it during their practice time and use it as a handy reference guide.
I am pleased to see that the structured approach to assessments in the book, reflects the way I which we teach our students and includes the key information that we would expect in order to ensure a safe and efficient approach to examination. * Senior Lecturer Advanced Practice Education, King's College London *