USMLE CCS cases- how should they end if you're on the right track?

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Doing UW but have difficulty judging how I'm performing. Patients mostly seem to be getting well, but sometimes on advancing the clock, I suddenly get the message : you have 2 minutes left.

What am I supposed to do in those 2 minutes if the patient's an in-patient? How do I send him home, for instance? How do I see results of reports that were still pending?

Also, must I cancel i.v. and other inpatient orders? What if I don't want to send him home just yet?

This is confusing. I don't know how I'm performing. I hope I don't get a shocker when the result is out.

Also, there have been times I've messed up and the patient continued to experience symptoms...is occasional messing up okay or can messing up badly even a single patient fail you?

Thanks

Originally Posted by RaraBovis

Doing UW but have difficulty judging how I'm performing. Patients mostly seem to be getting well, but sometimes on advancing the clock, I suddenly get the message : you have 2 minutes left.

What am I supposed to do in those 2 minutes if the patient's an in-patient? How do I send him home, for instance? How do I see results of reports that were still pending?

Also, must I cancel i.v. and other inpatient orders? What if I don't want to send him home just yet?

This is confusing. I don't know how I'm performing. I hope I don't get a shocker when the result is out.

Also, there have been times I've messed up and the patient continued to experience symptoms...is occasional messing up okay or can messing up badly even a single patient fail you?

Thanks

If the thing ends early, as in 5-10 minutes, you have solved the case, you've won. That, or they died, and it should have been evident by their crashing vitals.

If the thing goes on and on, 20-30 minutes, youve missed something. It isn't counseling on cigarettes or wearing helmets. It's that you haven't made the diagnosis they wanted you to make. You haven't transferred them to the correct setting. You have totally missed the case.

If you go beyond 10 minutes, stop. Reread everything. Rebuild your differential. Most cases end by moving them from the office to the ward, getting a ct, and asking surgery to do surgery. The way to win is simple, does not involve 70 tests, you just have to see the winning track.

My understanding...

The cases end FAST. Once you get the diagnoses and perform the critical actions.

I didn't counsel anyone, I didn't do anything on the 2nd screen it brings you too after you end.

That screen is for people who failed the case to have one last ditch attempt, or to fill in critical actions.

Like say you took someone with an MI to the cathlab right away as soon as u saw their EKG and the case ended. In that case I would use the screen to enter in the appropriate work out. (CBC, CMP, Coags, morphine, Aspirin, Nitro, Chest x-ray, Heparin ect)

Otherwise just click through it!

If you graduated a US med school the cases are PAINFULLY obvious. There not going to give you some sort of atypical presentation of a an autoimmune disorder or inborn error of metabolism.

This test is a total scam

I swear this test is a total scam. It is purely for the c@cksuckers at the FSMB to make an extra dime off of you.

CCS cases went fine on the final exam. They were more straightforward than I'd suspected.

On one case the time ended before I could click OK on the DIAGNOSIS I'd typed.

Do you think my response was automatically saved or will it be recorded as NO DIAGNOSIS ENTERED?

Quite concerned about this.

Thanks.