Epistaxis
Assess bleeding severity, help with simple first aid and recognise when more help is needed.
Clinical learning outcomes: Awaiting named clinical review.
What you should learn
- Identify airway, circulatory or ongoing bleeding concerns.
- Explain common contributing factors and the next step if first aid fails.
Recognise and explain
- Consider trauma, medicines and bleeding disorders without assuming one cause.
On your placement
Rehearse the first-aid explanation with a partner. Agree supervision and ask permission before any patient-facing learning.
- Take a focused history and review observations.
- Practise explaining safe initial positioning and compression.
- Discuss the need for examination, blood tests or ENT review with a clinician.
Observe and understand
- Observe packing or cautery and its aftercare where appropriate.
Observation does not establish competence to perform these activities.
Start here
MLA: ENT history
Use a focused ENT history to understand the bleeding and associated symptoms.
Current guidance
NHS nosebleed guidance
Review simple first aid and when urgent help is needed; packing and cautery require clinical assessment and appropriate supervision.
On your next shift
Give clear advice about what to do if the bleeding restarts.
Go deeper
Optional material. Advanced resources extend discussion; they do not define independent student practice. Check the publication date and compare clinical advice with current guidance.
RCEMLearning: epistaxis assessment
Read the assessment and first-aid sections. Cautery, packing and medicine choices require the appropriate supervisor and local guidance.
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: Epistaxis.
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.