Family Physicians' Experiences of Physical Examination.

Purpose: The increased availability of reliable diagnostic technologies has stimulated debate about the utility of physical examination in contemporary clinical practice. To reappraise its utility, we explored family physicians' experiences.

Methods: Guided by principles of phenomenology, we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews exploring 16 family physicians' experiences of conducting physical examination: 7 (44%) men and 9 women (56%) whose clinical experience varied widely, from 11 (69%) urban and 5 (31%) rural locations.