Station - Instructions for candidate
You are an intern working in the paediatric Emergency Department of a metropolitan hospital in Perth.
Rosa/Enzo Ferraro, aged 18 months, was brought in by ambulance this morning after a two-minute generalised seizure at home during a fever. The registrar has assessed the child, found a right acute otitis media, diagnosed a simple febrile seizure and started treatment for the ear; the child is now alert and playing. The registrar has asked you to talk with the parent, who is very frightened, and to answer their questions before discharge. The child is in the cubicle with the parent.
| Registrar's note | 18 months, 11.5 kg. Single generalised tonic-clonic seizure ~2 min at home at 0715 with T 39.2, brief perioral cyanosis, post-ictal 15 min, now back to baseline. Examination: alert, playful, right TM bulging and red; no meningism, no rash, neurologically normal. BSL 5.1. Diagnosis: simple febrile seizure, source right AOM. Plan: amoxicillin, discharge after parent education, GP review 2 days. |
|---|---|
| Observations | Temperature 37.9 degrees C (after ibuprofen), heart rate 128 /min, respiratory rate 28 /min, SpO2 98% on room air |
Your tasks are to:
- Take a brief focused history from the parent to confirm the nature of the seizure and the relevant background.
- Explain the diagnosis to the parent in plain language: what happened, why, and what it means for the future, and answer their questions.
- Explain what to do if it happens again, when to seek help, and the plan for going home.
- You do NOT need to examine the child; the registrar's examination findings are provided.
- You do NOT need to summarise your findings to the examiner.
- You do not need to discuss the treatment of the ear infection in detail; the registrar has arranged it.
This is a 10-minute station, with 2 minutes of reading time.