OSCE MCQ 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During an OSCE ABCDE assessment station, after ensuring scene safety, what is the first step when approaching an unresponsive patient?
- Open the airway with head-tilt chin-lift
- Call for help and check responsiveness (Correct answer)
- Check for a carotid pulse
- Apply high-flow oxygen
Correct answer: Call for help and check responsiveness
The first step in any patient assessment is to check responsiveness and simultaneously call for help before proceeding to airway.
Question 2: In an OSCE prescribing station, you need to prescribe morphine for acute pain. Which co-prescription is always required to prevent a common side effect?
- Antiemetic
- Laxative (Correct answer)
- Proton pump inhibitor
- Antihistamine
Correct answer: Laxative
Opioids cause constipation by acting on gut opioid receptors, so a laxative must always be co-prescribed.
Question 3: During an OSCE ENT station, which finding on otoscopy is most consistent with acute otitis media?
- Pearly gray, cone of light present
- Bulging, erythematous tympanic membrane (Correct answer)
- Retracted tympanic membrane
- Perforation with dry edges
Correct answer: Bulging, erythematous tympanic membrane
Acute otitis media causes a bulging, erythematous tympanic membrane due to middle ear inflammation and pus accumulation.
Question 4: An OSCE station requires you to measure a patient's peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). What position should the patient be in?
- Supine
- Semi-recumbent
- Seated with legs uncrossed
- Standing upright (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Standing upright
PEFR is most accurately measured in the standing position, though seated is acceptable if the patient cannot stand.
Question 5: In a pediatric OSCE station, you observe a child with a barking cough, inspiratory stridor, and low-grade fever. The most likely diagnosis is:
- Epiglottitis
- Croup (laryngotracheobronchitis) (Correct answer)
- Bronchiolitis
- Whooping cough
Correct answer: Croup (laryngotracheobronchitis)
Croup is characterized by a barking cough, inspiratory stridor, and mild fever due to subglottic inflammation, typically from parainfluenza virus.
Question 6: During an OSCE ophthalmology station, a patient has lost the direct pupillary light reflex but the consensual reflex is preserved when the affected eye is tested. This pattern is called:
- Horner's syndrome
- Relative afferent pupillary defect (Correct answer)
- Argyll Robertson pupil
- Third nerve palsy
Correct answer: Relative afferent pupillary defect
A relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD) occurs when the optic nerve of one eye is damaged, reducing the direct but not consensual reflex.
Question 7: In an OSCE station on hand washing, which area is most commonly missed during routine hand hygiene technique?
- Palm of the hand
- Dorsum of the hand
- Fingertips and thumbs (Correct answer)
- Wrist
Correct answer: Fingertips and thumbs
Studies consistently show that fingertips and thumbs are the most commonly missed areas during hand washing.
OSCE MCQ 3
During an OSCE ABCDE assessment station, after ensuring scene safety, what is the first step when approaching an unresponsive patient?