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.

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!

I just completed my FNP NP clinical rotations and schooling and this literally was the best purchase I have ever made before starting my master's program. Although the print is EXTREMELY tiny, one full page- back and front- is EVERYTHING you need to ask a patient during a physical exam's history and physical, including OLDCARTS, allergies, family history, review of symptoms, lab values, whole body review during physical exam, plan and assessment. Truly a life saver for any student or practitioner. For my school, I had to write a detailed write up for every patient from top to bottom and I used this notebook as my record keeping. It was extremely helpful for keeping Typhon notes (some schools require you log patients into the computer using ICD-10 codes). I found that over time, this book housed everything handy to keep me timely and efficient during my clinicals because I used to so often that the notes were like second nature to me. My only two gripes about the book include: 1) the print is really small and almost imperceptible for those that don't have 20/20 vision and 2) the book was just slightly too large to fit into my white coat, which was a huge hassle. Yet, the Dean of my school (top 3 in the nation) praised me for using this book during a simulation in front of the whole class because I knew all of the right questions to ask during my first semester whereas most students were still finding their groove. I am not meaning to brag at all, but meaning to say that this book gave me a significant leg up in school. He even mentioned to the whole class after the simulation that everyone should obtain this notebook!

I started using this notebook during my family medicine rotation and it was so helpful because of the high volume of patients I was seeing and the limited time I had to take a thorough history. I found that I was spending less time looking down to write out information and more time looking at my patients and interacting with them. The template is really organized and already has everything written out so I can just quickly check things off instead of having to write things out. Also, it ensures that you don’t forget to ask any pertinent questions or miss anything in your physical exam, which is great when you go to present. My residents were really impressed with my presentations since they were much more organized and complete! =) I have since been using this notebook for all my rotations. I actually use it more than I use any of the other medical reference books, charts, etc that are in my white coat pockets. It’s nice to just have all your patient information in one compact little notebook instead of on a bunch of separate pieces of paper. I wish I had this starting my first year in medical school because I think it would have really helped me perfect my history taking and presentation skills early on.

These are great for NP clinical rotations. It has every part of a soap note you may need with a spot for more info. Each page (front and back) is for a patient. It’s also small enough to fit into a lab coat, purse, or small bag.

This book is helpful for when you need a little reminder on what to examine for each system when you are still learning. The print is small but once you use it a couple of times you know where to look for what you need. I honestly started using it as a plain pad of paper and just wrote everywhere on it, I don't use it "properly" bc I feel like its a waste, so I put several pt's on one side if that makes sense and just use it like a plain pad of paper and then look at the info for a refresher when I need to examine. It's not essential to my clinical experience but it's helpful to have.

Perfect pocket size for standard white coat. Cover was a bit scratched on delivery. I've had no issues with the spring or pages coming off. The print is small but not horrible. You will definitely need a fine point pen. I use the notes section for extra info that won't fit elsewhere.

This was a pretty useful addition to my toolkit during third year. Before this, I usually scrambled to find some scrap paper to write info down during a H&P interview and had to rely solely on memory to remember, in addition to the basic history-taking questions, any pertinent positives or negatives for a particular patient. Needless to say, I always forgot to ask one thing or another. This still happens, but it's way reduced when I use this notebook--lots of things I may forget because of time or other simultaneously running demands I tend not to anymore because I have it all in front of me. The organization is helpful, and as it has been said before, I can always add in a few things here and there to suit the type of rotation or interview I'm on. And I feel that by constantly using it, I'm bound to remember whatever it was I usually forgot when I didn't have the book. It's a learning tool unto itself in that regard. All in all I'm happy I bought it, and will most likely be buying more in the future.