How do you know if you're doing things right on Step 3 CCS

[shades_children]

I'm taking Step 3 on Monday and Tuesday, and I'm currently working through the Primum 6 case simulations. This stuff seems completely non-intuitive to me.

If I get to end the case early, that means I'm doing things correctly, right? Should I add last minute orders like "admit to inpatient" or a consult so the patient can be see by another service on the floors?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[hot sauce]

Generally speaking if you end the case early you did the right thing in the end (unless the patient died). That doesn't mean you got 100% (or even passed the case) as you may have done the right thing but gotten there in the wrong way. As an example, STEMI case will probably end when you send the patient to the cath lab but if you don't get appropriate labs or even give him an ASA you probably won't get a great score or if you do a chest CT first and wait for results delaying treatment you could still end early but not have done well.

Usually you don't need to add a bunch of stuff on at the end. If the surgeon takes the acute appy from emergency and the case ends I don't think you need to worry about writing admit and a bunch of orders. Just make sure the things you should have already started are on board like NPO, IVF, pain meds for the appy.