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Learning route for students

Emergency practice for medical students: ABCDE, ECG, ABG and CXR

Start with a structured assessment, practise the numbers and images, then explain your thinking in a short handover. Use these fictional exercises alongside supervised learning on placement.

Start here: ABCDE → ECG → emergency case, then debrief, ABG and CXR

Start this route See the sequence

Starting sequence

Start here: your first three exercises

Each card says what you will do, the level, roughly how long it takes and whether it is a guide or an exercise. The sequence is a suggestion: start anywhere, and there is no enrolment or score to unlock the next step. Use fictional cases for practice and agree your scope with your supervisor or employer.

  1. ABCDE assessment

    Rehearse the primary survey on three practice prompts and learn when to stop and treat.

    Beginner · about 11 min · Practice prompts with explained debriefs

    Rehearse ABCDE assessment

  2. ECG

    Interpret six traces (four rhythm strips, two 12-lead ECGs) and check each answer.

    Beginner to intermediate · about 25 min · Interactive exercises with answers

    Start the ECG exercises

  3. Emergency case

    Work through the ED anaphylaxis case: two decisions, each with an explained answer.

    Beginner to intermediate · about 6 min · Interactive decision exercise

    Start the ED case

Further practice

Skills to build, in order

Carry on from step 4. Each activity builds on the ones before it.

  1. Debrief

    Review the case with a structured debrief: what happened, why, and what you would change.

    All levels · about 9 min · Written guide

    Learn to debrief a case

  2. Unit conversions

    Five conversion questions with the working shown: grams, milligrams, micrograms, litres and minutes.

    Beginner · 5 questions · Calculation trainer

    Practise unit conversions

  3. ABG foundations

    The first six blood gas cases, or a three-case quick set, each with a worked answer.

    Beginner · cases 1–6, 12 questions · Interactive cases

    Start ABG foundations

  4. CXR foundations

    Three chest X-ray cases, including one guided image, with zoom and annotation guides.

    Beginner · 3 cases, 6 questions · Image quiz

    Start CXR foundations

  5. Give a clear handover

    Read one worked ward SBAR, then write your own fictional version and compare.

    Beginner · 1 example and 1 attempt · Practice builder

    Practise a ward handover

Completing these exercises does not authorise independent clinical work. Agree what you can do with your supervisor.

Skill 1 of 4

ABCDE assessment

Placement and finals assessors look for the same things: a fixed order, a finding at each step, and the moment you stop to treat. Rehearse the sequence aloud until the order survives a distracting patient, then run it as an OSCE station against a mark scheme.

Skill 2 of 4

ECG interpretation

Use the same reading order on every trace and write the description before the diagnosis. The six exercises are four rhythm strips and two 12-lead ECGs; commit to an answer before you reveal the explanation.

Skill 3 of 4

ABG interpretation

Start with the six foundation cases: the pH, then the primary process, then compensation, then oxygenation. The quick set is three cases for a short gap on placement, and the ventilator foundation cases show where the carbon dioxide number comes from.

Skill 4 of 4

Chest X-ray interpretation

Check the film before the lungs: patient details, projection, rotation and inspiration. The three foundation cases include a guided image with zoom and annotation, and OSCE station 8 rehearses explaining what a normal film does not rule out.

What to practise before your first shift

Before your first emergency department shift, agree what you can observe, assist with and practise, and set one learning goal. Then rehearse the two things you are most likely to be asked to do: a structured ABCDE on an unwell patient and a short, clear handover to a senior.

Where this fits with your exams

Finals OSCEs commonly include an ABCDE assessment of an acutely unwell patient and an explanation or handover station. Written papers, such as the single-best-answer questions of the UK Medical Licensing Assessment, often ask you to interpret an ECG, a blood gas or a chest X-ray. These exercises practise that reasoning with explained answers; they are not a mock exam and carry no score or pass mark.

Short on time? The six-minute study plan suggests a routine.

Carry on in the app

Other learning routes

Every route uses the same free exercises. Back to all learning resources, including the resource finder and all seven practice tools.