Vomiting
Assess severity and possible causes before assuming uncomplicated gastroenteritis.
Clinical learning outcomes: Awaiting named clinical review.
What you should learn
- Identify dehydration, obstruction or other features needing urgent assessment.
- Discuss appropriate initial investigations and supportive care.
Recognise and explain
- Consider abdominal, metabolic, neurological, pregnancy-related and toxicological causes.
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.
- Take a focused history including intake, losses and urine output.
- Assess hydration and examine the abdomen with supervision.
- Discuss the need for fluids, antiemetics, imaging or surgical review.
Observe and understand
- Observe nasogastric decompression when indicated; practise tube insertion in simulation before supervised patient work.
Observation does not establish competence to perform these activities.
Start here
MLA: gastrointestinal history
Take a focused gastrointestinal history and consider the wider clinical picture.
Current guidance
NICE CG174: IV fluids in adults
Use the adult assessment and reassessment sections to discuss why fluids are needed and how their effect will be checked.
NICE CG84: gastroenteritis in under 5s
Review dehydration and rehydration in under 5s with gastroenteritis; distinguish this from adult fluid guidance and other causes of vomiting.
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.
Abdominal examination paired practice
Practise abdominal examination and presenting findings in a stable agreed scenario.
On your next shift
Explain which feature argued for or against an uncomplicated cause.
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.
GMC: procedure supervision and graduate requirements
Check the competence and supervision level for a procedure; agree what you can practise with your placement supervisor.
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: Vomiting; Dehydration.
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.