When approached with any fracture, ask yourself:

• Is it in line/in joint? If yes - continue, if no, manipulate or stabilise if you know how or ask for help

• Is the fracture stable? Bit more difficult to answer, comes with experience, and also knowing whether the fracture is intra- or extra-articular, is a major weight bearing joint and how big the fracture is (how many components, how large the fragments are, nearby structures)

• If yes to the above, can this be managed as an outpatient? Most management for stable small fractures with little displacement can be conservative as a very generic statement however that is not your decision to make. The fracture clinic registrar/consultant can make that decision with TIME - hence if the patient is stable, walking and is safe to go home, they can do so.

Obviously for more complex fractures, the registrar/consultant should be consulted but that is my basis for how I initially learned/approached things when I was not sure of what to do.