Customer Reviews
probably one of the best! - By: maverick, 23 May 2008 
Talley is a professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, USA. I have Macleod's & Oxford Clinical Skills as well, but this book is just a class above the rest when it comes to explaining why the physical signs appear the way they are. It generates your interest (which is rare for physical exams!) & makes you understand your physical exam much better & not just regurgitate memorized lists of things. The DVD that comes along with it is really really helpful for last minute revision eventhough the methodsin this book differ a bit from British titles. But everyone has their own way of examining patients so I guess it's not too much of a problem. Pictures are outstanding & the summaries at the end of the chapters are invaluable. It gives a list of differentials for physical signs as well which I find really useful. For the CVS system it also teaches you how to go about Xrays & has pictures of Xrays of common pathologies.
Its main strength is the way it's written & the flow of discussion to it. The text is clearly laid out & font size is nice & clear unlike some books which sometimes can hurt your eyes after prolonged reading. The text is really detailed & has all the info that Macleod's & other books have but at the same time does not overwhelm you. Due to the way it's written, you can choose to get as much or as little detail as you want & it won't affect your understanding. I think this book can serve me well not only for my Undergraduate studies but possibly right through to membership exams too. Get other books as well if you want, but definitely buy this along with them, trust me, you won't regret it!
better than macleods - By: mohammed, 13 May 2008 This book is far better than 'Macleods'. The text flows much better & there is an accompanying DVD which allows you to see how to put the text into practice (it is always easier to remember something if you can see it).
The other extremely useful feature is a table which rates how useful a particular sign i.e the specificity & sensitivity of a sign for a particular disease. It is commonin other text books to list all the unusual signs & symptoms ever related to a disease from the begining of time. This is not very helpfulin the 'real world'.
The summary page at the end of the chapters is very useful for OSCE revision, as it runs through the major things to examine for each system.
New Fifth Edition - By: , 01 Feb 2006 The new edition of this classic text is awesome. It has been completely re-formated with the addition of many new pictures (colour) & diagrams to complement the very readable but comprehensive text. It also comes with a DVD of 10 systems examinations & is also supported with full on-line access to boot! It was always one of the best clinical examination texts on the market but the update makes it superior to any other that I have seen. A must havein my opinion
Nearly 5 stars - By: , 08 Aug 2005 
This is a great book to learn clinical exam from. It explains thingsin detail & then presents a summary of the examination just discussed-perfect to learn for OSCEs. The only downside is that not every examination is summarisedin this way-that is why it loses a star.
A must have for ANY clinician - By: , 09 May 2004 I used this book during medical school, during house jobs & for revision for the MRCP paces. I had also bought all the other standard examination texts though this one is a cut above the rest. Its interesting, relevant & unambiguous, one of the few texts i would recommend as an essential for a medical graduatein any stage of their career.
