A child with fever
Assess the child, not just the temperature, and listen to the parent or carer’s concern.
Clinical learning outcomes: Awaiting named clinical review.
What you should learn
- Recognise signs of serious illness and seek paediatric help promptly.
- Explain how age and clinical findings guide investigation and safety-netting.
Recognise and explain
- Under-5 fever and under-16 sepsis guidance have different scopes; adult scores are not a substitute.
On your placement
Agree your role with the supervising clinician. Involve the child and carer, with consent and assent appropriate to the child and activity.
- Take a history from the child and carer, including intake and urine output.
- Review age-appropriate observations and appearance with your supervisor.
- Discuss the investigation plan and ask the carer to explain the return advice.
Start here
MLA: history from a child and carer
Take a focused history from the child and carer, including behaviour, intake and the family’s concern.
Current guidance
NICE NG143: fever in under 5s
Read assessment of serious illness and safety-netting in under 5s; consider separate sepsis guidance when indicated.
NICE NG254: suspected sepsis in under 16s
Use the age-specific assessment and escalation sections for children under 16; do not substitute an adult score.
NICE NG224: UTI in under 16s
Use the child’s age and illness severity to discuss urine collection and testing; adult rules do not apply universally.
On your next shift
Ask which feature mattered most beyond the measured temperature.
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.
Presentations and conditions: Fever.
Clinical and professional capabilities: Assessment and clinical reasoning; Recognising limits and seeking help.
St Emlyn’s interpretation of relevant GMC graduate outcomes and MLA themes; these are summary labels, not official topic codes or a complete curriculum.
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.