Respiratory
Distinguish common respiratory disease from immediate ventilatory, oxygenation and airway threats.
Prepare for two papers and one changing recruitment context
Learn the official assessment blueprint first. Treat score thresholds, interview bypass, shortlisting and final weighting as specialty-specific rules that must be rechecked each round.
Core concepts
Concept 1
Work of breathing, oxygenation, ventilation and haemodynamic effects determine urgency.
Exam cue: Assess severity before naming the diagnosis.
Concept 2
Asthma, COPD, pneumonia, embolism and pneumothorax require different immediate pathways.
Exam cue: Use examination and observations to separate competing causes.
Concept 3
Oxygen targets and escalation depend on the clinical context.
Exam cue: Recognise when imaging must not delay treatment.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Underestimating a quiet chest or exhaustion.
Guardrail: Use a 15-second safety pause before finalizing your action.
Applying one oxygen strategy to every patient.
Guardrail: Use a 15-second safety pause before finalizing your action.
Delaying treatment of tension pneumothorax.
Guardrail: Use a 15-second safety pause before finalizing your action.
Memory anchors
Breathing Severity
Rate, effort, oxygenation and fatigue guide urgency.
Quiet Can Be Dangerous
Poor air entry may signal severe obstruction.
Contextual Oxygen
Use the appropriate target for the patient.
Different Pathways
Similar breathlessness can require opposite treatments.
Do Not Delay
Treat immediately life-threatening patterns first.
Reassess Response
Escalate when initial therapy fails.
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 smoker has chronic productive cough and fixed airflow obstruction. What is likely?
A patient has episodic wheeze and reversible airflow obstruction. What is likely?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
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