Clinical skills

The Urea and creatinine page has been updated with a table of normal reference ranges for the Australian population.

The Metabolic acidosis page has been updated with additional information about lactate.

The Hypocalcaemia page has had some minor updates, mostly relating to the causes of hypoparathyroidism.

The Magnetic resonance imaging page has been significantly revised, particularly regarding MRI safety.

The Specimen collection page has been updated, including the addition of a segment on the accuracy of POC blood gas measurement compared to formal laboratory measurement.

The Metabolic acidosis page has been updated with important information about the level of agreement between arterial and venous lactate. Venous and arterial values should not be used interchangeably.

The Domestic violence page has had a major revision including the addition of multiple areas aimed to provide practical advise.

The Extent of medical treatment page has been updated with a section on futile care.

The Bereavement section has been updated, including a revised section on how to break the news of death.

A detailed guide on how to ask for consent has been added to the Consent page.

The Communication page has been updated, including additional information about overcoming barriers to communication. If you only ever read one page of the manual, read this one.

The General approach to medical imaging page has been updated with mostly changes to improve wording and clarity.

The Intravenous contrast page has been updated with some additional information about factors that do not increase the risk of contrast allergy.

The Ion effects on the ECG and Hypokalaemia pages have been updated with new information about ECG changes in hypokalaemia.

The Extent of medical treatment page has had a few touch ups, including a short segment on euthanasia.

The Hyperkalaemia page has had an update, including the most common contributors in ED patients.

The Extent of medical treatment page has been revised with a substantially updated segment on substituted decision making.

The Hypercalcaemia page has been updated with mostly changes to improve clarity.

The Calcium page has been updated, including some reorganisation and rewording to improve clarity.

The Patient safety page has been updated with some additional information about how to disclose error following a patient safety incident.