SCA practice case · Video consultation
“Sore knee in keen hill walker”
The candidate brief
This is what you would read in the 3-minute window before the patient connects. Read it once, note two or three hypotheses and one thing you must not miss, then stop.
Patient
Donald Harris · 65 years · male
Setting
Video consultation, requested by patient.
Past history
- Osteoarthritis left knee (4 years ago — settled with physiotherapy)
- Hyperlipidaemia
- BMI 31
Medication
- Atorvastatin 20 mg ON
Allergies
NKDA
Recent notes
Medication review 8 months ago. Note: "Recently widowed. Declined bereavement support at the time."
Reason for contact
Video consultation: right knee pain. Patient told reception "it's urgent — I have a deadline".
Practise this case
The full case is in the Hot Seat with the Gold plan. You get a 12-minute timer, a role-player script with facts released only when asked, examiner checkpoints by the three RCGP domains, a model consultation and the guidance behind it.
What this case tests
Show the learning points (spoiler: read after you have practised)
OA in primary care is non-operative and patient-centred. The marking gap is rarely the medicine — it's noticing the bereavement subtext, naming what the walk means, and negotiating rather than dictating. Imaging adds nothing when the diagnosis is clear and surgery is not the answer.
The guidance behind it
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