Step 2 CS Tutorial – What To Do When You’re Falling Behind In The Patient Encounter
TIME MANAGEMENT IS THE MOST CRUCIAL SKILL YOU CAN DEVELOP FOR THE STEP 2 CS EXAM… IF YOU RUN OUT OF TIME, YOU MIGHT FAIL YOUR CASE.
You might have excellent CIS & ICE skills… But if you can’t finish everything that needs to be done in fifteen minutes or less, then you’ll likely run into some problems on your exam…
In order to avoid running out of time, it’s crucial that you recognize the importance of time management early on in your preparation and integrate a strategy from the start.
In the post below I’ll provide you with some common-sense tips to ensure that running out of time doesn’t become an issue for you on your CS exam.
TIP #1. Integrate the 1-8-4-2 timing strategy: This is a simple strategy that we recommend to our students that breaks the encounter into different sections and assigns a maximum amount of time that should be spent at each. These timings represent how long you should spend in each of the following:
- Doorway: 1 minute
- Interview: 8 minutes
- Physical exam: 4 minutes
- Closure: 2 minutes
If you implement these timeframes into your practice, you should find that you have an easier time navigating the encounter without running into major timing issues.
TIP #2. Use a voice timer when practicing for the CS: A voice timer refers to voice prompts telling you when you have five minutes remaining and when you must exit the room. There is also voice prompts when you have a couple minutes left to complete the patient note. By integrating voice prompts into your practice, you’ll be well-prepared for the same thing on exam day.
TIP #3. Avoid the ‘end of interview review’: Many students tend to do a complete review of the entire history before moving onto the physical exam… This is unnecessary and will waste a lot of time… It’s rare that students do this and finish the encounter with time to spare… If you’re doing the interview properly, there’s no need to do a complete review afterwards.
TIP #4. Write in shorthand whenever possible: There’s simply no reason to write out the entire words ‘Nausea and vomiting’, when you can just as easily write N/V and save yourself ten seconds. Whenever you can, write in shorthand. It could save you more than a minute in the entire encounter.
TIP #5. Avoid talking excessively: This might be a challenge, but you should limit yourself to giving the patient the information that they need to know, then moving onto the next topic. If you find that you’re talking on and on and running out of time, take a look at how you’re performing your closure or your interview and figure out what can be eliminated and what is necessary. By eliminating words that don’t add value to the case, you can save a lot of time on the Step 2 CS exam.
While there are many different strategies we can implement to save time on the Step 2 CS exam, these 5 tips will give you a great start!
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