Ram’s Top Tips for the CSA – part 1

Please note: suggestions in this document are derived from local CSA workshops in our
region (Yorkshire) and not centrally from the college.

But first, just a few things from the college to remind you...

Purpose of the CSA: ‘An assessment of a doctor’s ability to integrate and apply appropriate
clinical, professional, communication and practical skills in general practice’.

Integrative skills assessment - test a Doctor's ability to gather information and apply
learned understanding of disease processes and person centred care appropriately in a
standardised context, making evidence base decisions, and communicating effectively with
patients and colleagues.

In the CSA you are graded on three things:

More on the 3 domains:

DATA GATHERING, TECHNICAL AND ASSESSMENT SKILLS
Gathering and using data for clinical judgement, choice of examination, investigations and their interpretation.
Demonstrating proficiency in performing physical examinations and using diagnostic & therapeutic
instruments.
CLINICAL MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Recognition and management of common medical conditions in primary care. Demonstrating a structured and
flexible approach to decision making. Demonstrating the ability to deal with multiple complaints and co-
morbidity. Demonstrating the ability to promote a positive approach to health.
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
Demonstrating the use of recognised communication techniques to understand the patient's illness experience
and develop a shared approach to managing problems. Practising ethically with respect for equality and
diversity, in line with the accepted codes of professional conduct.

Dr. Ramesh Mehay, Programme Director (Bradford VTS), June 2010

Ram’s Top Tips for the CSA – part 1

BEFORE THE CONSULTATION

The cases/examiners are not out there to trick you.

In fact, the opposite is true. Examiners are there to pick out what you demonstrate so that you can
be given marks for it. Sometimes you'll hear whispers from other trainees about tricks that they think
the examiners or the cases were trying to trip you over on. They’re often wrong and if you start
focusing on these sorts of ruminations you will end up missing the bigger picture. So ignore them.

The cases might not just be of your standard type of patient or encounter.
The patient themselves may be of varying age, have a disability or may come from a different ethnic
group with language and cultural differences. The setting of the consultation may not be of the usual
GP surgery type. You may be presented with a home visit or a telephone call. These are not
uncommon.

Don't figure out the nub of the case to early.

Often, trainees will read the Doctor's instructions for a CSA case and quickly decide what they think
the nub of the case is. This can be dangerous as the nub might be something totally different but
your mind has now been set on a different track. If you allow the case to evolve, you should be able
to figure out the true nub during the data gathering phase.

DATA GATHERING STAGE

Spending time at the beginning is important because it makes the middle and the end of
the consultation easier.
Many trainees think they have to spend an equal amount of time at the beginning, middle and end
of the 10 minute CSA consultation. The problem with this is that if you have not explore the patient's
story in good enough detail right from the start then you're likely to end up with a wrong diagnosis
and your explanation is unlikely to tackle their agenda. So spending more time at the beginning of a
consultation may pay dividends in the end. In fact, management plans and explanations often don’t
take that long if you spend time working out what the patient’s ICE (for example) are from the start.

Adding structure to your history taking.

If you're finding it difficult to structure your consultation and that it appears disorganised to others
then consider getting a brief history and formulating a set of differential diagnoses. From there ask
questions to exclude some of them so that you can hone in on your working diagnosis.

Ask about red flags otherwise you’ll get a red flag!

Remember to ask about all of the red flag components for various conditions. Red flags are designed
to pick out serious conditions early, tackled promptly and the patient made safe. If you take an
incomplete history by only asking some red flags and leaving out others, then you are unlikely to be
excluding serious conditions in a comprehensive way. This ultimately is unsafe for the patient and I'm
sure you'll agree is unacceptable.

Dr. Ramesh Mehay, Programme Director (Bradford VTS), June 2010

Ram’s Top Tips for the CSA – part 1

Health questionnaires must be used as supplementary tools to your history taking and
examination.
For example, if a patient presents with low moods you must take a detailed in a history regarding
depression - as though you didn’t have a PHQ-9 questionnaire. To simply pick up low moods and
explore a few biological features of depression and then to say to the patient ‘I'd like you to fill out
this PHQ-9 questionnaire and we'll talk more about it next week’ is unlikely to meet the mark.

If a consultation appears to be too simple your alarm bells should be ringing.

If you find yourself with a simple case (let's say Otitis Media) which doesn't take too long to sort out,
that usually means you have missed something crucial. If during a CSA case you think ‘I can't see
what the big deal is’, consider

a) Going back to the patient's agenda in terms of their ideas, concerns and expectations
b) Revisit the psychosocial domain (i.e. exploration of the illness = impact of the disease on the
patient’s life) and
c) Screen for any other worries – there may be a hidden agenda relating to something
completely different like depression.

When you still don't know what the problem is or why the patient is here.
During the first part of the consultation (the data gathering phase) if you're struggling to identify
what the problem is or why the patient is here, again go back to step is a) – c) listed above – ICE,
psychosocial, screening.

If you’re still struggling (unlikely if you’ve done a) – c) well), verbalise your thoughts ‘Mmm... I feel as
though I’ve not really covered everything for you/not really got to the bottom of things/not really
grasped what you were hoping for today. Could you help me understand by starting again?’.
Remember, they may not be here for a medical diagnosis: the problem may lie in the psychosocial
domain.

John the examiner says: This is so helpful, is it worth elaborating: being alert to verbal and
non-verbal cues of a patient’s dissatisfaction, and responding with and open honest
comment like the one above.

The hidden agenda isn’t usually that ‘hidden’.

Teasing out the hidden agenda is actually easier in the CSA than in real life consulting with real
patients. In real life, many patients may be reluctant to reveal a hidden agenda and in many instances
it emerges in either the second or subsequent consultations.

However, in the CSA, because the case is scripted, the simulated patient will reveal the hidden
agenda if you ask the right questions. You should ask about what they think is going on and if
they've got any particular worries or concerns either from within themselves, something may have
read or from friends and relatives. A patient who presents with 3w of shoulder pain might then
reveal that they are worried about bone metastasis because their dad died of cancer which spread to
the bones.

Dr. Ramesh Mehay, Programme Director (Bradford VTS), June 2010

Ram’s Top Tips for the CSA – part 1

Verbalise your feelings and thoughts.

It is often very helpful to share your feelings and thoughts with the patient to let them know what
you are thinking or feeling. If the patient is aware of this information, they may just be able to help
you find a way through any dilemma – besides, this is a joint consultation between you and patient.
For example, at the beginning of a consultation:
If you find that there is tension between you and the patient you might say ‘I hope you don't mind
me sharing some of my thoughts and feelings but I'm sensing that there is a bit of tension in today's
consultation. And the thing is, I really want to help you. Is it OK if we start again or can you suggest a
way in which we can move things forward is so I can help you better?’.

If things are going terribly wrong, this approach may help reset things, help you gain marks in an
interpersonal skills and if the consultation then proceeds on a productive track, is likely to get you
marks in data gathering.

Towards the middle-end of the consultation:

You might say ‘There are a number of things we can do to help you but I’m struggling to decide which
one would best suit you. Perhaps if I explain a bit about the different options, together we can
identify the best one for you? Is that okay?’.

CLINICAL EXAMINATION STAGE

A special note on clinical examinations.

 If you would like to perform an examination, please state this clearly: ‘is it okay if I examine
your chest?’.
 Don't assume that you're going to be handed a card saying that you don't have to do one -
you might just have to demonstrate it.
 When it comes to musculoskeletal examinations, the examiners are not after the expert type
of examination done by GPs with a special interest in this area: just a basic rudimentary
examination that the average competent GP should be able to perform.
 When examining symmetrical joints like the knee, you don't have the perform a full knee
examination on the good one. However, you should expose the good one so that you can at
least compare the bad one to it. Then go on to examine the bad joint more fully.

EXPLANATION STAGE

Things are hardly ever black and white.

During your consultation remember to be flexible. Don't be too doctor centred (unless you need to
be, for example, in emergencies – which don’t often come up in the CSA). Take the case of a daughter
who would like you to visit her mother. Let's say it's about dementia but the patient is not
particularly at high risk of self neglect or other dangers. And let's say you say to the daughter that
you’d be happy to visit her sometime later on in the week but then the daughter says she was hoping
that you would visit today. Rather than digging your heels in and not moving from your initial
position, be flexible. So in this case, you might say ‘unfortunately things are quite busy today and
from what you told me about your mum I sense that although she needs a review there isn't anything

Dr. Ramesh Mehay, Programme Director (Bradford VTS), June 2010

Ram’s Top Tips for the CSA – part 1

urgent that warrants a visit today. If I suggest visiting her tomorrow at around lunchtime would that
be more acceptable?’

John the examiner says: The examiner is not looking to see whether you say yes or no, but
how you explore and negotiate.

Patient information leaflets –PILs

So many trainees offer every simulated patient encountered in the CSA a patient information leaflet
(PIL) in a willy nilly (=mechanical/robotic/scripted) sort of way without much further thought. Before
offering a patient information leaflet, consider the following:

 Remember that PILs are not a replacement for a full explanation. Patient information leaflets
should be supplementary to your explanation.

 In real life there is not a PIL for every condition. Therefore, before dishing out one, consider
whether one would actually exist in real life.

 Be prepared to be asked a little about a leaflet’s content.

Don't waste too much time on opportunistic health promotion just for the sake of it.
There are obviously those cases where opportunistic health promotion is crucial to the management
plan. A good example of this is the patient who has COPD but continues to smoke heavily. Clearly it
would be unacceptable not to touch on the smoking in this case. Another example might be
screening for depression in people with chronic diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis. But in the case of
a young lady who presents with vaginal discharge - is asking about smoking or alcohol really going to
help you? You will just be wasting valuable time and you may even lose marks for not being selective
about the questions you ask in relation to the specific case. In summary, if opportunistic health
promotion is pertinent to the case then by all means explore further; if not, don’t bother.

If you are running out of time....

If you’re running out of time but there’s a lot more to cover, then you may just wish to state what you
would do briefly and concisely in the last minute or so. It's a last minute desperate measure but may
give you some Brownie points. But whatever you do, do not give a commentary on what would you
would do when you're only halfway through the consultation time allowed.

Remember, do what you would normally do in a consultation.

For example, don't get flustered or thrown by a condition you know nothing about or if you’re
unfamiliar with the management plan. Say what most GPs would say: ‘would you mind if I find out
some more information about that by talking to some of the other doctors and get back to you in
order to help you as best as I can?’.

SPECIFIC GROUPS OF PATIENTS

Paediatric cases
It is unlikely that you will get very young children in the CSA examination. You may get children who
are the age where they can behave themselves (e.g. 10 – 16 year olds) but what is more likely to

Dr. Ramesh Mehay, Programme Director (Bradford VTS), June 2010

Ram’s Top Tips for the CSA – part 1

happen is a parent talking about their child or them presenting with an inanimate child (i.e. a
dummy).

There are some things you should remember about teenagers and young people.
Most teenagers and young people are often too embarrassed to come to the doctor. Remember to
pay attention to the verbal and non-verbal cues they give off: it shouldn’t be hard to pick up their
embarrassment or anxiety. Help put them at ease by acknowledging this and empathising; hopefully,
they’ll be more open about telling you their story. ‘I can see you’re obviously embarrassed about this
and many people like yourself are. But don’t worry, it’s okay to feel that way. For me to help you as
best as I can, I do need to ask you a few more personal questions. How are you feeling at the
moment?... Is it okay for me to carry on?’

Will I get emotionally charged patients?

You have to remember that simulated patients are human beings at the end of the day. It is therefore
difficult for them to cry consistently on every performance. However, you are more likely to
encounter the angry patient than the crying one because it’s easier to ‘perform’.

Feedback Statements

Data gathering, technical and assessment skills

disorganised and unsystematic in gathering information from history taking, examination and
investigation
does not identify abnormal findings or results or fails to recognise their implications
data gathering does not appear to be guided by the probability of disease
does not undertake physical examination competently, or use instruments proficiently
Clinical management skills
does not make appropriate diagnosis
does not develop a management plan (including prescribing and referral) that is appropriate
and in line with current best practice
does not demonstrate an awareness of management of risk and health promotion
Interpersonal skills
does not identify patient's agenda, health beliefs and preferences
does not make use of verbal and non-verbal cues
does not identify or use of appropriate psychological or social information to place the problem
in context
does not develop a shared management plan or clarify the roles of doctor and patient
does not use explanations that are relevant and understandable to the patient
does not show sensitivity for the patient's feelings in all aspects of the consultation including
physical exam
Global comments
disorganised or unstructured consultation
does not recognise the challenge (e.g. the patient's problem, an ethical dilemma etc)
shows poor time management
shows inappropriate doctor centredness

Dr. Ramesh Mehay, Programme Director (Bradford VTS), June 2010

Ram’s Top Tips for the CSA – part 1

Remember, the CSA is as much about clinical skills as about consultation skills.
So you have to be fairly thorough in your history taking and examination. People often fail because
of not doing this.

Don’t get too flustered...

Louise the examiner says: The only additional point I might add would be something about
housekeeping between cases- that you start afresh with each case and if one didn’t go well
put it right out of your mind and start over with the new case - they have NO knowledge of
what went on before, and you don’t need to pass all 12! Also to use that time between
cases wisely to look at the notes of the next

Why International Medical Graduates fail:

The main areas of difficulty for all those who fail (and especially for International Medical Graduates)
are:
 6. Does not develop a management plan (including prescribing and referral) that is
appropriate and in line with current best practice or make adequate arrangements for
follow-up and safety netting.
 8. Does not identify patient’s agenda, health beliefs & preferences / does not make use of
verbal & non-verbal cues.
 10. Does not develop a shared management plan or clarify the roles of doctor and
patient
 14. Does not recognise the challenge (e.g. the patient’s problem, ethical dilemma etc.)

Please read the following document

If you’ve previously taken the CSA but been unsuccessful, please read the document ‘How to make
effective use of your CSA feedback’ – also on www.bradfordvts.co.uk (click nMRCGP, then CSA).

And finally....
RAM’S QUICK CONSULTATION CHECKLIST - ‘A SPICE SED EMUS’
1 A Agenda – do I know why they are here? (might not be same as Presenting Complaint)
2 S Screening – have I screened for anything else?
3 P Psychosocial – I have explored the impact on their home and work lives in detail?
4 I Ideas – have they any thoughts about what might be going on?
5 C Concerns – have they any worries or fears in relation to this?
6 E Expectations – what are they hoping I might do for them today?
7 S Serious stuff – have I missed anything serious? (DIFFERENTIALS/RED FLAGS)
8 E Examination - have I examined them properly?
9 D Diagnosis – have I got to the stage where I have a working diagnosis?
10 E Explanation – have I explained the diagnosis and pitched it to their level?
11 M Management – have I offered, shared or involved them in the management plan (options)
12 U Understanding – have I checked understanding of both explanation and management?
13 S Safety netting – and follow up.
This checklist will suit some of you but not all: so don’t worry about not using it.

Thanks to Drs. John Hain, Louise Riley (CSA Examiners) and Simon Hall for reviewing this document.

Dr. Ramesh Mehay, Programme Director (Bradford VTS), June 2010