Station - Instructions for candidate
You are an intern working in the Emergency Department of a regional hospital 100 km from Perth. The hospital has a general surgeon and an anaesthetist on call, a CT scanner and a blood bank, but no interventional radiology or intensive care unit. It is 11 pm.
Joanna Reyes, 24, a motorcyclist, has just arrived by ambulance after being hit by a car at about 60 km/h and thrown from her bike. She was wearing a helmet and was not knocked out. The paramedics have placed a cervical collar and blocks, applied 15 L of oxygen and inserted one cannula. She is short of breath and complaining of left-sided chest pain. The senior doctor is 15 minutes away; a registered nurse is with you.
Your tasks are to:
- Perform an A to E primary survey and treat as you go.
- Request any relevant investigations and interpret the results provided.
- Summarise your findings to the examiner with your working diagnosis and differential diagnoses.
- Outline your immediate management plan to the examiner.
- You do NOT need to take a full history.
- A registered nurse is at the bedside and will carry out your instructions; the on-call surgeon and anaesthetist can be contacted by phone.
This is a 15-minute station, with 2 minutes of reading time.