OSCE Patient Communication Skills 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient becomes tearful while discussing a terminal diagnosis. What is the most therapeutic immediate response?
- Continue explaining the treatment plan to stay on schedule
- Hand the patient a tissue and say 'Take all the time you need' (Correct answer)
- Leave the room briefly to give the patient privacy
- Redirect to discussing prognosis statistics
Correct answer: Hand the patient a tissue and say 'Take all the time you need'
Acknowledging emotion with a physical gesture and verbal permission to grieve validates the patient's feelings without abandonment.
Question 2: Which technique best demonstrates active listening during a patient history?
- Completing the patient's sentences to save time
- Maintaining eye contact, nodding, and summarizing key points (Correct answer)
- Writing notes continuously without looking up
- Asking multiple questions simultaneously
Correct answer: Maintaining eye contact, nodding, and summarizing key points
Active listening combines nonverbal cues (eye contact, nodding) with verbal confirmation (summarizing) to show genuine engagement.
Question 3: A patient asks, 'Am I going to die from this?' How should you respond?
- 'Everyone dies eventually, so we focus on quality of life.'
- 'I cannot answer that question.'
- 'What makes you ask that question right now?' (Correct answer)
- 'Statistically, your survival rate is 60%.'
Correct answer: 'What makes you ask that question right now?'
Exploring the patient's underlying fear or concern behind the question allows a more meaningful and individualized response.
Question 4: When should a medical interpreter be used instead of a family member?
- Only when no family members are available
- When discussing sensitive, private, or clinical information (Correct answer)
- Only when the patient specifically requests one
- When the family member is under 18 years old
Correct answer: When discussing sensitive, private, or clinical information
Professional interpreters ensure accuracy and confidentiality for sensitive medical discussions that family members may distort or censor.
Question 5: A patient refuses a recommended procedure. What is the first step?
- Document the refusal and end the encounter
- Ask the patient to explain their reasons for refusal (Correct answer)
- Contact the patient's next of kin for consent
- Request a psychiatric evaluation for capacity
Correct answer: Ask the patient to explain their reasons for refusal
Understanding the patient's reasons for refusal may reveal correctable misunderstandings or values that can guide alternative approaches.
Question 6: Which approach is most appropriate when delivering unexpected bad news in an OSCE station?
- Deliver all information quickly to minimize the patient's anxiety
- Use the SPIKES protocol: Setting, Perception, Invitation, Knowledge, Emotions, Summary (Correct answer)
- Begin with treatment options to give the patient something positive to focus on
- Ask a colleague to deliver the news to avoid emotional difficulty
Correct answer: Use the SPIKES protocol: Setting, Perception, Invitation, Knowledge, Emotions, Summary
The SPIKES protocol provides a structured, empathetic framework for breaking bad news that respects patient readiness and emotional responses.
Question 7: A patient uses lay terminology to describe symptoms. The best response is to:
- Correct their terminology immediately to establish accuracy
- Ignore the lay terms and use only medical terminology in your response
- Use the patient's own words while gently introducing correct terms (Correct answer)
- Ask the patient to look up the correct medical terms before continuing
Correct answer: Use the patient's own words while gently introducing correct terms
Mirroring patient language while introducing medical terms builds rapport and improves comprehension without making the patient feel corrected.
OSCE Patient Communication Skills 2
A patient becomes tearful while discussing a terminal diagnosis.
What is the most therapeutic immediate response?