Clinical Assessment Course

This course is designed with the following objectives:

• Enhance History-Taking Skills: Equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed to proficiently take patient histories across common surgical, medical, and psychiatry presentations.

• Address Challenging Communication: Provide guidance on how to effectively approach challenging communication scenarios.

• Master Clinical Skills: Offer both knowledge and hands-on practice in essential clinical skills typically assessed in clinical assessment exams. This includes tasks such as arterial blood gas sampling, venous puncture, catheterization, intravenous fluid setup, and prescribing practices.

• Proficiency in Clinical Examination: Develop competence in conducting clinical examinations for surgical, orthopedic, and medical patients, encompassing both acutely unwell and stable cases.

• Promote Safe Prescribing: Impart knowledge on safe prescribing practices, emphasize the importance of teamwork, and teach effective handover procedures for patient care.

These aims are aligned to ensure participants are well-prepared for clinical assessments and equipped with the essential skills and knowledge required in medical practice.

Upon successful completion of this clinical assessment course, participants will be able to:

• Recognize Common Patient Presentations: Identify and understand the typical presentations of patients in surgical, medical, and psychiatric contexts.

• Conduct Patient-Centered Consultations: Develop the skills necessary to conduct patient-centered consultations and effectively handle challenging communication scenarios.

• Perform Examinations on Stable Patients: Understand how to perform comprehensive examinations on patients with stable diseases.

• Identify Signs of Clinical Deterioration: Recognize signs of clinical deterioration in adult patients, enabling prompt intervention.

• Assess and Manage Critically Unwell Patients: Gain the knowledge and competence to assess and manage critically unwell patients.

• Execute Foundation Year One Skills: Demonstrate proficiency in fundamental skills required in foundation year one, including ABG (Arterial Blood Gas) sampling, blood sample collection, male catheterization, intravenous cannulation, and more.

• Explain Procedures to Patients: Effectively communicate and explain medical procedures to patients, including cystoscopy, laparoscopy, cholecystectomy, nephrectomy, and others.

These objectives are structured to ensure that participants are well-equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge for clinical assessments and medical practice.

Upon successfully completing this clinical assessment course, participants will have the capability to:

• Perform Practical Procedures: Demonstrate proficiency in performing procedures such as ABG (Arterial Blood Gas) sampling, IV cannulation, male catheterization, and others on a manikin.

• Conduct Effective History-Taking: Develop the skills to take a focused patient history and formulate accurate provisional diagnoses and appropriate differential diagnoses.

• Perform Examinations on Stable Patients: Successfully conduct thorough examinations on patients with chronic diseases who are in stable condition.

• Assess and Manage Acutely Unwell Patients: Acquire the knowledge and skills required to assess and manage acutely unwell patients, within the scope of a foundation year two practitioner.

• Safely Prescribe Medications: Safely prescribe medications following the British National Formulary (BNF) guidelines or local policies.