The Rational Clinical Examination

Clinical breast examinations (CBE) are recommended by every doctor, but are they effective?
According to a study done by the Harvard Medical School, CBE do work properly depending on its precision and accuracy. Among women screened by CBE and mammograms, have produced a reduced mortality rate. CBE detected only a small 3% of breast cancer cases out of 45% that were missed by mammograms. Researchers estimated that CBE sensitivity is at 54% and has a specificity of 94%. The ratio of a positive CBE result is 10.6 while the ratio of a negative test result is 0.47. The longer the duration and with the use of specific techniques there was a higher detection accuracy. The proper technique for CBE includes proper positioning of the patient, thoroughness of the search, use of a vertical-strip search pattern, proper position and movement of the fingers with a CBE duration of at least 3 minutes per breast. Overall, this study proved that by using CBE, the probability for finding breast cancer at an early stage were greatly increased.

Works Cited:
Barton, M. B., R. Harris, and S. W. Fletcher. "The Rational Clinical Examination. Does This Patient Have Breast Cancer? The Screening Clinical Breast Examination: Should It Be Done? How?" PubMed.gov. Harvard Medical School, 5 Apr. 2000. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. .

Question and Answer

Q: What part of the newspaper do you read first?

A: I read the first page first. I don't go through and look for anything specific.

Q: What are three books you’ve read in the past year?

A: I have read The Life of Frederick Douglass, The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman, Judge and Jury by James Patterson in the past year.

Q: As a child, what did you do in your free time?

A: I would go outside and draw anything I saw that intrigued me or challenged me.

Q: What’s a goal that has been on your list for a few years?

A: Since I was five, I have wanted to go into the medical field and become a successful doctor.

Q: What do you actually do with your free time?

A: I sleep or watch television during any free time I have.

Q: What types of activities energize you?

A: Church activities energize me. I wait all week for Sunday services and things such as our revivals make me feel renewed.

Q: What famous people intrigue you?

A: The famous people that intrigue me are the medical inventors such as Crawford W. Long who created anesthesia, Jonas Salk who created the vaccine for polio, John Heysham Gibbon who created the first heart-lung machine, and many more medical inventors.

Pictures and my quote

This is at the Governors Mansion in Atlanta Georgia. This room is in the basement of the mansion where the Governor and First Lady speak to and entertain guests. Interesting fact: the stripes on the walls are painted on not wallpaper.









This is at the Governors Mansion as well. These are all of the students that attended this field trip for Johnson High School.













My Favorite Quote:
Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. –Martin Luther King Jr.

This is my favorite quote because it involves faith. Though my religion, faith is a key attribute. I must have faith in my savior Jesus Christ in order to be a good Christian. This is often hard to do because the end point of my faith is not seen; thus, this quote gives me the courage to continue on in my efforts.