Clinical Officers Council Pre-Internship study plan
Clinical Officers Council Pre-Internship · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 8 hours per week
Internal Medicine
Recall diagnostic criteria for high-yield adult presentations including acute coronary syndrome, stroke, diabetic ketoacidosis, pneumonia and severe malaria
Interpret common laboratory and bedside results, including full blood count, urea and electrolytes, liver function tests, arterial blood gas and ECG
Apply a stepwise approach to fluid, electrolyte and acid-base problems
Complete 60 timed internal medicine questions and classify every error as knowledge, interpretation or decision-making
Your checkpoint
Closed-book 60-item internal medicine test scored at 70% or higher, with a categorised error log
Internal Medicine & Surgery
Differentiate medical from surgical causes of acute abdominal pain using history, examination and first-line investigations
Outline preoperative assessment, risk stratification and informed consent for common surgical procedures
Explain wound healing, surgical site infection, sepsis recognition and antibiotic stewardship principles
Work through 40 case vignettes requiring the single best next step in medicine or surgery
Your checkpoint
40-item mixed medicine and surgery case test scored at 70% or higher, with a written rationale for each changed answer
Obstetrics and Gynaecology & Paediatrics and Child Health
Interpret the partograph and identify obstructed labour, poor progress and fetal distress
Outline immediate management of postpartum haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia
Classify dehydration, pneumonia and malnutrition in children using standard clinical signs
Calculate paediatric fluid requirements and common weight-based drug doses without a calculator
Complete 50 mixed obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatric questions under timed conditions
Your checkpoint
50-item obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics test scored at 70% or higher, with all dose calculations checked and corrected
Surgery & Orthopaedics and Trauma
Apply the primary survey to simulated trauma presentations and identify immediate life threats
Recognise common fracture patterns and document neurovascular status before and after immobilisation
Outline principles of closed reduction, splinting and compartment syndrome monitoring
Select appropriate imaging and initial management for hip, wrist, ankle and long-bone injuries
Complete 40 orthopaedic and trauma questions plus 10 structured trauma scenarios
Your checkpoint
40-item orthopaedics and trauma test scored at 70% or higher, plus 10 trauma scenarios with all primary survey steps correctly sequenced
Community Health and Public Health & Psychiatry and Mental Health
Calculate incidence, prevalence, sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value from simple data
Outline the steps of an outbreak investigation and a community health needs assessment
Conduct and document a structured mental status examination and suicide risk assessment
Distinguish depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis and acute agitation, and outline first-line management and referral thresholds
Write brief public health and psychiatric case formulations from written vignettes
Your checkpoint
Two one-page public health reports and ten psychiatric case formulations, each with a documented risk assessment and management plan
Ear, Nose and Throat / Ophthalmology & Dermatology
Differentiate red-eye causes and identify ophthalmological emergencies requiring urgent referral
Interpret tuning fork tests and distinguish conductive from sensorineural hearing loss
Describe primary skin lesions using correct morphological terms and distribution
Outline management of common dermatoses including eczema, fungal infection, scabies and psoriasis
Complete 50 ear, nose, throat, ophthalmology and dermatology vignettes with a triage decision for each
Your checkpoint
50-item specialty vignette set scored at 75% or higher, with every red-flag diagnosis correctly triaged as emergency, urgent or routine
Anaesthesia and Emergency / Critical Care & Ethics, Professionalism and Health Law
Perform a structured airway assessment and assign an ASA physical status score
Outline management of anaphylaxis, shock, cardiac arrest and a difficult airway using current algorithms
Apply the principles of informed consent, confidentiality, negligence and professional boundaries to written scenarios
Identify legal and ethical obligations in adolescent consent, mental health detention and mandatory reporting
Produce concise emergency algorithm cards and answer 15 ethics and health law scenarios
Your checkpoint
Five emergency algorithm cards written from memory without notes, plus 15 ethics and law scenarios scored at 80% or higher
Reproductive Health and HIV Medicine & Internal Medicine
Apply HIV testing, antiretroviral initiation, adherence monitoring and post-exposure prophylaxis pathways
Outline contraception options and syndromic management of common sexually transmitted infections
Complete a full-length 120-item mock examination under timed conditions
Review the cumulative error log and identify the three weakest domains
Draft a one-page post-examination remediation plan with specific weekly actions
Your checkpoint
Full 120-item mock examination scored at 75% or higher with at least 60% in every domain, plus a one-page remediation plan
Milestones
Week 2: At least 100 practice questions completed cumulatively; mixed medicine and surgery set scored 70% or higher; error log shows no more than three recurring knowledge gaps
Week 4: At least 150 practice questions completed cumulatively; overall accuracy 70% or higher; all 10 trauma scenarios show correct primary survey sequence and neurovascular documentation
Week 6: At least 250 practice questions completed cumulatively; specialty vignette set scored 75% or higher; every red-flag diagnosis correctly triaged
Week 8: Full mock scored 75% or higher with every domain at 60% or higher; error log reviewed; one-page remediation plan completed