Were you planning to measure BP?
Don't need to - Yeah ! you heard me - you don't need to measure it on the Step 2 CS - All measurements provided on the door are to be assumed to be officially recent and accurate.
This is what the instructions on the ECFMG site manual for Step 2 CS says:
"The examinee instruction sheet gives you specific instructions and indicates the patient's name, age, gender, and reason for visiting the doctor. It also indicates his or her vital signs, including heart rate, blood pressure, temperature (centigrade and Fahrenheit), and respiratory rate, unless instructions indicate otherwise. You can accept the vital signs on the examinee instruction sheet as accurate, and do not necessarily need to repeat them unless you believe the case specifically requires it. For instance, you may encounter patient problems or conditions that suggest the need to confirm or re-check the recorded vital signs and/or perform specific maneuvers in measuring the vital signs. However, if you do repeat the vital signs, with or without additional maneuvers, you should consider the vital signs that were originally listed as accurate when developing your differential diagnosis and work-up plan"
Secondly, when you land up on the test center for the pre-test orientation, a video will tell you the same thing !
However, you need to tackle it on your Patient Note :
1. Do mention the exact Blood Pressure measurements provided to you on the door
2. If the case warrants checking Orthostatic Blood Pressures and other pressure measurement tests - definitely mention that as a diagnostic workup on the Patient Note, don't have to do it inside the room
3. Even in a suspected case of Aortic Dissection, mention BP measurement in both arms as an Investigation on ur PN ...
Hmmmm...having said this - I might consider actually measuring the SP's B.P. in these cases - if time permits ...
a. Pre-Employment check-up
b. Hypertension Follow-up
Google keywords to this blog article:
- "Should we measure BP on the Step 2 CS?"
- "when to measure Blood Pressure on usmle step 2 CS?"
Don't need to - Yeah ! you heard me - you don't need to measure it on the Step 2 CS - All measurements provided on the door are to be assumed to be officially recent and accurate.
This is what the instructions on the ECFMG site manual for Step 2 CS says:
"The examinee instruction sheet gives you specific instructions and indicates the patient's name, age, gender, and reason for visiting the doctor. It also indicates his or her vital signs, including heart rate, blood pressure, temperature (centigrade and Fahrenheit), and respiratory rate, unless instructions indicate otherwise. You can accept the vital signs on the examinee instruction sheet as accurate, and do not necessarily need to repeat them unless you believe the case specifically requires it. For instance, you may encounter patient problems or conditions that suggest the need to confirm or re-check the recorded vital signs and/or perform specific maneuvers in measuring the vital signs. However, if you do repeat the vital signs, with or without additional maneuvers, you should consider the vital signs that were originally listed as accurate when developing your differential diagnosis and work-up plan"
Secondly, when you land up on the test center for the pre-test orientation, a video will tell you the same thing !
However, you need to tackle it on your Patient Note :
1. Do mention the exact Blood Pressure measurements provided to you on the door
2. If the case warrants checking Orthostatic Blood Pressures and other pressure measurement tests - definitely mention that as a diagnostic workup on the Patient Note, don't have to do it inside the room
3. Even in a suspected case of Aortic Dissection, mention BP measurement in both arms as an Investigation on ur PN ...
Hmmmm...having said this - I might consider actually measuring the SP's B.P. in these cases - if time permits ...
a. Pre-Employment check-up
b. Hypertension Follow-up
Google keywords to this blog article:
- "Should we measure BP on the Step 2 CS?"
- "when to measure Blood Pressure on usmle step 2 CS?"
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posted by Digitaldoc, MD at 9:51 PM
COMMENTS ON ""
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Anonymous said ... (7:04 AM) :
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Anonymous said ... (8:35 PM) :
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Digitaldoc, MD said ... (9:18 PM) :
Post a commentwould you measure BP if a scenario includes orthostatic hypotension?
i had a case that required that... he was sweaty... i mentioned in the PN
Some people have mentioned that successfully on the investigations in PN
"Blood pressure meansurement in sitting and standing positions to determine orthostatic hypotension"