Perfect H&P Notebook (Medical History and Physical Exam Notebook)

MS3 here on IM rotation- This is a really helpful little book. I was hesitant about this because I'm usually not one to rely on a crutch for med school- always figured it was just better to memorize the crucial things (like all the parts of a full h&p) and not have to keep referring to a book. However, after using this template I've noticed that it does a phenomenal job in keeping me organized and thorough. No matter how good you are, talkative patients/family and other extraneous circumstances can distract you. Sometimes you just want to get the heck out of the room (for any number of reasons including, but not limited to, terrible odors, verbose patients...) and have a hard time thinking straight to make sure you hit all the points. And god forbid as you're presenting to your intern/resident/attending you realize you actually did forget to get something and they make you run back down to the ED.... Lets just say I've been making way fewer repeat trips to the ED :)Unexpectedly, the book also seems to be helping me present better since everything is organized. And when my intern needs to type up the official h&p for the EMR, I can just rip the sheet out and give it to them, easy-peazy.The cool thing is that each box/space has like "hints" at the top for what you should reaaaaallly remember to ask for in that section, so basically anyone can do a pretty thorough interview by just using this template. that fits on one sheet. and is small enough to fit in your pocket. and that you dont have to print out every morning.Oh and about this becoming a crutch- after using it, if I ever need to do an interview and don't have the book, I find that I can now produce an almost identical interview without missing any of the parts-- so really it has just helped me in that respect too. This would be amazing for M1/M2s as well, to help you get a solid foundation in interviewing skills before hitting the wards.

I am an MS3 who is half way through clinical rotations, including surgery, IM, primary care, and pediatrics. When I purchased this book, I was looking for a book to keep me organized when taking a full and thorough H&P, especially when I was just starting 3rd year. As a new 3rd year, it's so important to not miss any details because these are exactly the details you'll be ask about by your attending. This book has been great for keeping me thorough. Patients love to talk and it's so easy to get sidetracked, forget to ask information or skip over details. Writing everything down in this book and looking through this book after taking a H&P has prevented me from missing details. There are A LOT of information in each page of this book and the font is incredibly tiny. One full page (back and front) is all the information you need for one patient, including 7 dimensions of an illness, AMPLE, ROS, FH, SH, lab values, physical exam, plan and assessment. It has been a lifesaver, especially for very complicated patients with an extensive history.Because I brought this book when I started 3rd year, it has also taught me how to best organize my thoughts when taking a H&P. I'm a better history taker and a better presenter during rounds with this resource.The book is also spiral-bound and easy to rip pages out if you need to share information with your classmates or residents. It also fits perfectly into my white coat pocket!!

This is a neat little notebook that has been helpful to me during my clinic rotations in FNP school. It's not terrible, but I will not be repurchasing for these reasons:1. Does not fit in pocket of white coat- I read this in the reviews and thought it wouldn't bother me- IT DOES. It's exactly like carrying a "brain" around for 10 hours and expecting not to leave it somewhere. This is a deal-breaker for me.2. The pages come loose from the spiral binding because there is space in the binding between spiral brackets. You can squeeze it together to help, but eventually I do lose the back few pages.3. On the Physical Exam section, it has check boxes with double negatives. For example, in the GI section, it has a checkbox that say "nml bowel sounds"- great, I'll check it. But in the same sections says "no distention/fluid," "no hepatomegaly," etc. This puts you in the position where you have to check off a TON of boxes for a normal exam. That's pretty silly, so I end up not using the physical exam section at all for this reason alone.That being said- I have not found a decent H&P notebook yet, so I'm going to have to make one myself. Good luck!

Currently on my last rotation in IM - I started using this a little later than I wish I had - helps organize everything you need to make sure to ask about/find out about patients in such a concise yet complete manner (and in such a perfectly small amount of space!). I used to print out templates before this, but this little book has been the best - fits right into my pocket. (PS - some of my attendings saw me using this throughout the year and loved it, commenting on what an important learning tool it is when you're still in medical school)I strongly recommend M1s, M2s, and especially M3s starting their rotations to get this - it's the best compilation of everything you need to cover with your patients, and once you start using it, you'll be able to develop your own systematic way of going about patient interviews effectively. (Also a good idea for OSCE preps for the first two years and off-sites when you're building the foundation of how to make your clinical encounters as effective and efficient as possible)I think medical/PA students, and potentially other healthcare-oriented students should all really give this a try - it's inexpensive, I've been very pleased with my purchase, and has been totally worth it :) Get it!