Online, interactive clinical assessment skills training for students in any healthcare program at your institution — MD, DO, PA, NP, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, exercise science, and pharmacy

Bates’ Visual Guide to Physical Examination® delivers videos featuring step-by-step, head-to-toe, and systems-based physical examination techniques, as well as interactive OSCE clinical reasoning modules and new communication and interpersonal skills videos.  

Based on the Bates’ Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking guidebook
Access videos easily online
Ensures clinical accuracy
Standardize instruction across your institution

What makes Bates' examination techniques special for your institution?

  • Served as the "gold standard" for step-by-step guide on how to do physical examinations for over 50 years
  • Vividly recreates live patient encounters through demonstrations of step-by-step physical examination techniques
  • Enables users to move seamlessly between videos and feedback with peers and instructors

Bates' Visual Guide now offers more valuable content, providing enhanced learning experiences with updated and new video content, a more intuitive presentation, and better representation of diverse patient populations.

Pathology and special maneuvers videos for all the regional exams
To provide faculty with greater flexibility in customizing learning experiences and enhancing clinical skill education, Bates' Visual Guide to Physical Examination now organizes each regional examination consistently and logically. It includes new sections on Pathology and Special Maneuvers, enriched with comprehensive videos and focused content on abnormal findings and key examination techniques. These additions help maintain academic rigor by deepen the examination curriculum.
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Pregnant abdomen videos
To offer more physical exam demonstrations for a wider variety of patient types, Bates' Visual Guide to Physical Examination now includes new pregnant abdomen videos for educators. These videos showcase the correct techniques for conducting abdominal exams during pregnancy, including Fundal Measurement and Leopold Maneuvers.
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How to Assess the Triceps Reflex | Bates Visual Guide to Physical Examination
How to Assess the Triceps Reflex
How to Assess the Triceps Reflex
How to Assess the Triceps Reflex
How to Assess for a Knee Effusion | Bates Visual Guide to Physical Examination
Active listening
Active listening
How to Assess for a Knee Effusion
How to Assess Color Vision | Bates Visual Guide to Physical Examination
Active listening
Active listening
How to Assess Color Vision
Measuring Brachial Index | Bates Visual Guide to Physical Examination
Measuring Brachial Index
Measuring Brachial Index
Measuring Brachial Index

Bates' Visual Guide is the gold standard for medical education institutions

We wanted to have a standardized video that all faculty and all of our hospital locations, all students could refer to. And Bates’ was sort of our gold standard for lack of a better word. This video resource was just fantastic.
Dr. Eric Nielsen; Faculty, Ross University
In addition to providing useful clinical and physical exam videos, Bates’ Visual Guide also provides the Communication and Interpersonal Skills series, which gives instruction on how to interact with patients of all kinds…This resource supports Belonging, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion with topics such as using patients’ preferred gender pronouns, interacting with LGBTQ+ patients, elderly patients, etc.
Chloe Hough, Librarian; Nova Southeastern University
The videos in Bates’ Guide to Physical Examination provide a primer for Florida State University College of Medicine students to prepare for physical examinations of patients in both simulated and clinical environments…Students can review exam procedures for patients across the life course, from infants to older adults, and build on the foundational knowledge that Bates’ provides as they refine their physical examination skills in clerkships and clinical practice.
Martin Wood, MSLIS, AHIP; Director, Charlotte Edwards Maguire Medical Library Florida State University College of Medicine

Why Bates’ Visual Guide to Physical Examination?

  • Supports teaching and learning objectives with hours of narrated and closed-captioned videos
  • Prepares students for the patient encounter and board exams
  • Allows students independent, frequent viewing and testing of their clinical reasoning skills
  • Provides a resource for practicing clinicians — nurses, physicians, PAs, and therapists to refresh their examination techniques
  • Creates direct paths to videos from library catalog or course syllabus; enables downloading of PDF transcripts for use in teaching guides

Why Bates' Visual Guide is ideal for institutional assessment or clinical learning courses?

  • Integrates with other resources on the Ovid® platform for easy navigation between them
  • Encourages meaningful feedback and communication between teacher and student
  • Supports institution or course-level teaching and learning objectives
  • Creates direct paths to videos from library catalog or course syllabus; enables downloading of PDF transcripts for use in teaching guides
  • Integrates seamlessly with your institution’s LMS or an instructor’s online curriculum
Nurse taking patient's blood pressure at bedside

Use Bates' to prepare your students for USMLE exams and boards

  • Prepares students for board and OSCE exams that focus on patient physical assessment
  • Allows students remote, independent, and frequent viewing and testing of their clinical reasoning skills to reinforce learning and remediate when necessary
  • Promotes active learning and improves student engagement, leading to better retention of material and increased usage
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Bates' Visual Guide to Physical Examination sample content library and resources

Bates Visual Guide to Physical Examination Attentive Listening
Active listening
Active listening
Image of doctor and patient talking
Non-stigmatizing Language
Non-stigmatizing Language
Bates Visual Guide to Physical Examination Guided Questions
Guided questioning
Guided questioning
Download the latest fact sheet
Prepare students and new clinicians for successful patient encounters. 
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