Station - Instructions for candidate
You are a final-year medical student working in the intern role in the Emergency Department of a Perth metropolitan hospital.
Margaret Thompson, a 27-year-old primary school teacher, presented to the Emergency Department this morning. She was in her car, wearing a seatbelt, when it was hit from behind two days ago, and she has had neck pain and stiffness since; she did not seek care at the time. She has come in today because her school wants written advice before she returns to teaching this week.
| Triage observations | HR 78 regular, BP 118/74 mmHg, RR 14, SpO2 99% on room air, temperature 36.9 C, pain 4/10 at rest; she walked in unaided |
|---|---|
| Triage handover | Stationary driver, struck from behind at low speed. No head contact, no loss of consciousness, no vomiting. Walking from the moment of impact. No regular medications and no past history of note. |
Your tasks are to:
- Perform a focused examination of the cervical spine and a neurological screen of the upper limbs. Describe to the examiner what you would like to examine or test and the relevant findings will be provided to you.
- State your provisional diagnosis and whether any further tests are needed to the examiner.
- Outline your initial management plan to the examiner, including the advice you would give her before she leaves.
- You do not need to take a formal history; ask the patient only what the examination and plan require.
- Please verbalise each step as you perform it; the examiner provides the relevant findings.
- You do NOT need to summarise your findings to the examiner.
This is a 10-minute station, with 2 minutes of reading time.