SITUPS: a new tool for oral case presentation in the paediatric emergency department

We developed a new case presentation technique, SITUPS, and studied its impact on the patient presentations by medical students at a paediatric emergency department. The students' opinions about the usefulness of the technique were also assessed.

The students saw patients both before and after introduction to SITUPS. Their presentations were analysed by the clinical instructor using a student assessment form. The students filled in a 15-item questionnaire about their opinion of SITUPS as a learning tool.

Twenty-eight students were evaluated both without and with SITUPS in a total of 78 presentations. Using SITUPS, the students gave more complete case presentations without increasing the presentation time. The main areas of improvement were discussing differential diagnoses, proposing a management plan, and identifying where they lacked knowledge and needed to ask the instructor questions. The students found SITUPS particularly helpful in identifying family and social issues of significance, thinking of relevant questions to ask the patient and the family, and thinking through differential diagnoses.

We propose a new case presentation technique, SITUPS, for use at the paediatric emergency department. With the help of SITUPS, the medical students gave more complete case presentations in a time-effective manner.