Cardiovascular examination
Practise a systematic examination and a clear summary of what you find.
Clinical learning outcomes: Awaiting named clinical review.
What you should learn
- Examine the cardiovascular system with consent, appropriate exposure and attention to comfort.
- Summarise findings and discuss their relevance to the presenting problem.
Recognise and explain
- An examination supports the assessment; normal findings alone do not exclude a serious cause of chest pain or breathlessness.
On your placement
Agree the activity and supervision with the clinical team. For patient-facing learning, seek permission and respect the patient’s comfort and care needs.
- Read the MLA candidate brief, then practise with a consenting partner using the observer checklist.
- Swap roles and repeat one part after feedback.
- Ask a clinician to observe a suitable patient examination and help you interpret the findings.
- Present the findings without substituting a diagnosis for what you actually observed.
Start here
Chapter 6: System examination
Read the MLA cardiovascular examination and how to interpret and present the findings.
Current guidance
GMC practical skills and procedures
Check the task-specific graduate expectation and discuss your current supervision with the placement team.
GMC guidance on the quality of clinical placements
Use the placement guidance to agree learning opportunities, supervision and feedback with your team.
Discuss
Assessing a blackout or unexplained fall
Build a witness-based blackout history, recognise cardiovascular red flags and avoid reassuring labels that hide risk.
Practise
One learner performs. One checks the important steps and gives feedback. Then swap. These are St Emlyn’s practice tools, not official MLA scoring systems.
Cardiovascular examination paired practice
Practise with a consenting partner, use the observer checklist and swap roles.
On your next shift
Compare a practice examination with one performed in the ED. Ask which findings changed the clinical plan.
How this relates to GMC graduate outcomes and the MLA
These are St Emlyn’s learning connections, not a claim that this page covers every national requirement.
Clinical and professional capabilities: Clinical assessment; Communication; Recognising limits and seeking help.
Practical skills: Cardiovascular examination.
Suggested placement activities informed by the GMC framework. No new procedure-specific supervision level is assigned here.
Explore the student placement programme
Student practice and graduate expectations
About this resource and its review
A St Emlyn’s guide to learning Emergency Medicine during undergraduate placements. It is not an official medical-school or GMC curriculum. Your medical school’s curriculum and assessment requirements take precedence.
National foundations: GMC Outcomes for Graduates, the practical-skills supplement and the MLA content map applying from September 2026.
Framework checked: 8 October 2026. This is a source check, not clinical sign-off.
Clinical learning outcomes: awaiting named clinical review.
The four learning routes are St Emlyn’s groupings. The six interconnected MLA domains remain part of the official content map.