New doctors have dangerously poor stethoscope skills
In a study of 453 doctors undergoing residency training in family practice or internal medicine, the residents were able to recognize only 20 percent of 12 common heart ailments that can be detected with a stethoscope.Study authors Dr. Salvatore Mangione and Linda Z. Nieman, of the Allegheny University of the Health Sciences in Philadelphia, said the identification rate of the heart ailments was "disturbingly low." The ability to detect heart problems with a stethoscope didn't improve with experience; third-year residents were no better than first-year residents. Even more appalling, the residents were no more skilled at stethoscope use than third- and fourth-year medical students. Dr. Michael E. Whitcomb, senior vice president for medical education at the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C., called the study findings "distressing" and "alarming." By comparison, the researchers found that 10 experienced heart specialists were able to identify 90 percent of the heart problems.
(Journal of the American Medical Association, 1997;278:717-22)
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