Minor Illness: Assessment and Management

Learn about the ‘4 Rules of Consulting in Minor Illness’ which are there to help you practice protective medicine and to place patient safety at the heart of every consultation. We’ll show you not just how to examine patients with minor illnesses, but how to assess them systematically and holistically. You’ll learn how these patients can be managed as competently and safely as possible, adopting an approach that is both pragmatic and evidence-based.

Content will include:

• clinical assessment skills in minor illness
• the limitations of clinical assessment in early disease and the importance of safety-netting
• the assessment and adults, children and older patients
• the assessment and management of patients with upper and lower respiratory tract infections, cystitis, conjunctivitis, thrush, headaches, gastroenteritis, minor skin conditions, back pain, meningitis, fever of unknown origin
• diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision-making in minor illness
• safety-netting and referral in minor illness
• the use of antibiotics and analgesics in minor illness.

How you'll learn
You can take the entire module in class with eight days of face-to-face teaching, or choose to take 4.5 days of face-to-face teaching and complete your learning online. Sessions will take place on alternate weeks over a four-month period and students will be expected to enhance this by gaining clinical experience with patients with minor illnesses, either within their workplace, or on self-arranged placements, with a clinical mentor.

Assessment
You’ll complete a reflective practice form for each session, along with a log book of the skills you’ve performed and the conditions you’ve encountered. You’ll take two 15-minute Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) involving simulated consultations with patients who have minor illnesses.