Neurological examination
Choose and practise the examination needed for the clinical problem.
Clinical learning outcomes: Awaiting named clinical review.
What you should learn
- Perform and describe a focused neurological examination under supervision.
- Recognise a new or unexplained abnormality and seek help.
Recognise and explain
- A focused examination follows the history. A rapid assessment of deterioration differs from a complete station examination.
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.
- Choose an appropriate MLA neurological card and practise with a partner.
- Ask a supervisor which examination is needed for a patient you have seen.
- Describe the findings anatomically and check uncertain signs together.
- Present the pattern of findings and discuss the next assessment.
Start here
MLA: upper-limb neurological examination
Review the upper-limb examination and findings to report. Choose a different neurological card below when the clinical task requires it.
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 acute back pain
Distinguish an urgent neurological or vascular concern from uncomplicated back pain and give a useful recovery plan.
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.
Upper limb neurology paired practice
Rehearse upper-limb neurological examination within the agreed task.
Lower limb neurology paired practice
Rehearse lower-limb neurological examination; no isolated finding excludes cauda equina syndrome.
Cranial nerves paired practice
Use the station brief to select the cranial-nerve task and present the findings.
On your next shift
Choose one sign you found difficult to elicit and ask for observed practice, rather than assuming it was absent.
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: Neurological 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.