Residency // Stanford Medicine 25

Stanford Medicine 25

Stanford 25 is an innovative program focused on teaching residents advanced physical exam skills. It is built on the principle that, like any other skill, technique matters. As medicine residents spend increasing amounts of time poring over the electronic medical records, technique and true bedside skill suffer. By demonstrating 25 technique-dependent physical diagnosis maneuvers, then having residents practice using the maneuvers and teaching the maneuvers, residents develop a repertoire of skills they can teach at the bedside.

The Stanford 25 team is part of the Program in Bedside Medicine, led by Dr. Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP, Vice Chair for the Theory & Practice of Medicine. The group’s research interests are in developing bedside skills, in teaching ultrasound, in the ethnography of the patient-physician relationship, and in evaluating clinical skills. Skilled clinicians of the Program in Bedside Medicine, as well as master clinicians throughout the Divisions and Departments, are invited to conduct demonstrations, integrate evidence and experience to create a top-notch physical exam curriculum.

Stanford 25 educational sessions are held every two weeks throughout the year and typically involve a live patient and a demonstration of physical diagnostic techniques by an expert clinician. Residents become comfortable with this skill, and are then tasked with teaching this skill to their peers. The end result is the training of residents to become skilled clinicians with great dexterity in the physical exam.