Gen Surg Examination 1

 

Station 1


My tummy won’t stop hurting!

 

Start the Timer and Begin

Intro

 

End of Bed Inspection

 

Examination space:

Patient:

Inspection

 

If the candidate requests obs at this stage state “the nurse is just preparing them for you”.

Palpation

 

Specific Organs

 

Percussion

 

Assessing for shifting dullness is a good habit to get into. In clinical practice it is often only done if initial dullness is palpated.

Auscultation

 

To Complete My Examination…

 

The candidate may consider PR or hernia examination although they are not necessarily indicated here so marks have not expressly been given. It is always worth mentioning them at the end of an Abdo exam as it will rarely be the wrong answer.

Examiner Instruction

 

At this point please direct the candidate to move on to present their findings to you.

Presenting the history

 

Please note - although the diagnosis is biliary colic give the mark for good clinical reasoning and not for the correct diagnosis.

A very good candidate may also go on to suggest brief initial investigations as part of their summary even if not expressly asked e.g. I would review with a senior, order initial bloods, and an US scan of the abdomen. This is a good habit to get into on the wards.

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Tags | Surgery | Examinations | Abdominal exam | Abdo exam | Biliary Colic | Gallstones

Station Written by: Dr Megan Burns

Peer Reviewed by: Dr Rishil Patel

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