The Fifty Dollar Palpation Lab: An objective assessment tool for first year osteopathic medical students

The heart of osteopathic medicine lies in the skill of palpation. All osteopathic educators understand the crucial role that competency in palpation plays in grasping the concepts of osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). This paper describes a palpation lab set up for first year osteopathic medical students that introduces students to concepts in palpation including; superficial palpation, deep palpation, gross palpation, fine palpation, edge discrimination, and tension.