Dermatology
Visual and contextual assessment of common, chronic and serious skin disease.
How to prepare for the MRCGP AKT
Build broad current clinical knowledge, then rehearse evidence interpretation and the ethical, administrative, statutory and regulatory decisions unique to UK primary care.
Core concepts
Concept 1
Inflammatory, infective, malignant, drug-related and systemic skin presentations across ages.
Exam cue: Name the exact decision and time point before reviewing the options.
Concept 2
Describe morphology and distribution, integrate symptoms and exposure, then choose treatment, review or referral.
Exam cue: Separate the decisive clinical, numerical or governance fact from plausible background detail.
Concept 3
Identify severe drug reactions, rapidly spreading infection, melanoma or other urgent malignant features.
Exam cue: Choose the safest proportionate action for UK general practice and include follow-up or escalation where relevant.
Concept 4
Apply current UK guidance and patient context while accepting that the most appropriate answer may be no investigation, prescription or referral.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Naming a rash from one visual feature without considering distribution, time course, medicines and systemic illness.
Guardrail: Do not choose a familiar fact or technically possible action when the stem asks for the most appropriate current UK primary-care decision.
Recalling a guideline fragment without checking whether it applies to this patient, population or administrative context.
Guardrail: Do not choose a familiar fact or technically possible action when the stem asks for the most appropriate current UK primary-care decision.
Choosing an action that is possible but not the most appropriate option at the stated point in care.
Guardrail: Do not choose a familiar fact or technically possible action when the stem asks for the most appropriate current UK primary-care decision.
Memory anchors
Dermatology: scope
Inflammatory, infective, malignant, drug-related and systemic skin presentations across ages.
Dermatology: primary-care lens
Describe morphology and distribution, integrate symptoms and exposure, then choose treatment, review or referral.
Dermatology: safety boundary
Identify severe drug reactions, rapidly spreading infection, melanoma or other urgent malignant features.
Dermatology: common trap
Naming a rash from one visual feature without considering distribution, time course, medicines and systemic illness.
Dermatology: AKT decision sequence
Define the exact UK general-practice problem, identify the decisive evidence and safety issue, then choose the most appropriate action for this point in care.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
A 34-year-old has a rapidly spreading painful erythematous leg, pain out of proportion to skin findings and systemic toxicity. What is the most appropriate action?
A 16-year-old has moderate inflammatory acne with papules and pustules on the face and back. What is an appropriate first-line approach?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
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