Question: What do I need to take with me for the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA)?
Answer: When you apply for the CSA make sure you read the ‘Information for Candidates’ on the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGPs) website, which outlines instructions for the day. When you arrive, you will be required to show photo identification and will be provided with a locker for all your personal belongings and those items you are not allowed to take with you into the assessment room—mobile phones, notes, textbooks, etc. There are catering facilities at the new location for the CSA exam at the RCGP building at Euston Square, but you cannot take food into the assessment room. You will be required to bring your normal doctors bag with you containing a British National Formulary (BNF), stethoscope, ophthalmoscope, auroscope, thermometer, patella hammer, tape measure and peak flow metre with spare mouthpieces. Make sure your BNF is up to date and free from handwritten annotations; you are permitted to use unmarked colour-coded tags to highlight sections you frequently access. Ensure you are familiar with all your equipment, especially if it is borrowed/new. You are allowed to write notes once in the assessment room, but these cannot be removed after the examination. If you have any personal requirements/essential medication you need to carry with you/any queries contact the RCGP assessment well in advance of the day of your CSA.
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