how to best use first aid CS (and do you really ask all the random ROS questions?)

[bulldog]

---

Members don't see this ad.

so have a month left before cs. using the first ed of FA.

on the 25 or so cases in the back of the book, i'm wondering do we need to ask all the ROS questions.

seems like if the patient is a drinker, FA whips out the CAGE questions.

Sputum production? they want amount, color, odor, blood, amount of blood.

fatigue? vision; job performance; afraid at home; gun in house; etc.

not sure how there'd be enough time to ask all of them.

 

[manning18]

You will not need to ask all the ROS questions listed in FA. Just review the cases carefully and pay attention to the questions in FA that you would not have asked. Add in those which you consider most relevant and you'll do well. For certain things like cough, sputum etc it is wise to follow up regarding the details (color, thickness, etc). Definitely follow the non-technical guidelines in FA, like wash hands before Physical Exam, ask permission to start exam, offer social services for the poor, always discuss smoking/drug/alcohol cessation at the end (even if it's not relevant to the main problem), drape generously, always give a brief summary of your findings/clinical suspicions/diagnostic plans at the end, etc. One thing I did was, after reviewing the FA cases a couple times, I wrote down the Differential Diagnosis and Workup for each case off the top of my head, to see how close I came to what FA listed. I did this a couple times for each case and found it beneficial, without being too time consuming.