During the past decade, there has been a growing recognition of the potential trade-offs between the harms and benefits of screening. Despite this recognition, there are challenges in teaching the uptake of these concepts into the core of medical education at the levels of the medical student, resident, and practising physician. In this Canadian Family Physician article, authors highlight the importance of teaching appropriateness in preventative screening to avoid potential harms, which can include overdiagnosis, false positives, and excessive testing.