PCS Exam 1 questions with verified
answers graded A+
Why are Good Communication Skills Important - correct answer ✔✔Positive impact on patient
outcomes
-Greater patient satisfaction
-Improved psychological symptoms and ability to cope
-Improved physical symptoms
-Greater recall and adherence to treatment plan
-Positive health behavior change
-Reduced length of hospital stay
Positive impact on physicians
-More information available for medical decision-making
-Greater satisfaction with the patient encounter
-Increased comfort discussing difficult or sensitive issues
Common Communication Deficiencies in Clinical Medicine - correct answer ✔✔Interruption of
patients early in the encounter
Failure to identify and prioritize patient concerns
Missed opportunities to understand and acknowledge the patient's ideas and feelings
Failure to give bad news concisely and adequately
Minimizing patient's role in his/her health care
Failure to obtain adequate informed consent
Poor Physician Communication Skill Consequences - correct answer ✔✔Decreased patient
satisfaction
,Poorer health outcomes
Decreased patient compliance with treatment recommendations
Greater disenrollment from care
More malpractice suits
Why Medical Interview Important - correct answer ✔✔-About two-thirds of diagnoses can be
made on the basis of the history alone despite modern technological advances.
-An accurate history also provides focus to the physical examination, making it more productive
and time efficient.
Why learn the skill of medical interviewing - correct answer ✔✔The most cost-effective
diagnostic tool
The most frequently performed medical procedure (>100,000 interviews/physician career)
Provides the opportunity to develop meaningful and caring relationships with patients
Create a therapeutic alliance (facilitates healing)
Gives direction to the physical exam
Provides the foundation for the formulation of an accurate differential diagnosis (clinical
reasoning
Why is the PE important? - correct answer ✔✔Contributes significantly to accurate diagnosis
and management of disease
-Efficient and cost-effective
Some diseases can only be diagnosed by physical exam
-Cellulitis, herpes zoster, Bell's palsy, pericarditis, Parkinson's disease
Many diagnoses require correlation between diagnostic studies and physical exam findings
Evidence-based data to support the validity and reliability of physical exam findings
Fundamental Qualities of Mindful Physicians - correct answer ✔✔1-Observation
, 2-Curosity
3-Beginner's Mind
4-Presence
Becoming Mindful - correct answer ✔✔1-Priming
2-Being available
3-Reflective Questions
4-Active Engagement
5-Thinking aloud
6-Practice
7-Self-Monitoring
8-Assesment
It's late on a Friday afternoon and you are tired. Your 15th and last patient, a 62 year old recent
widower, is particularly challenging because he has come in frequently during the last three
months, each time complaining of a new ache or pain. You have been unable to find a physical
cause for his complaints, and come to the conclusion that his symptoms are part of his grieving
process. Your offers to refer him to a support group were rejected, and he seems to have no
insight at all. Which of the following questions represents mindfulness, and is most important to
contemplate in order to make this encounter more successful, for you and for the patient?
A. How do I feel about patients with psychosomatic illness?
B. To whom can I refer this patient?
C. How do I feel about the fact that he has rejected my efforts to help him with his real
problem, the recent loss of his wife?
D. Can I help him see that his problem - correct answer ✔✔C. is correct because it explores the
clinician's own emotions at a specific point in time. Mindfulness is always a useful strategy when
you seem stuck with a patient. A (an example of self-awareness) might also be useful since it
addresses general beliefs regarding patients who suffer from psychosomatic conditions. Options
B and E may provide temporary relief, but will not help you work with similar patients who will
answers graded A+
Why are Good Communication Skills Important - correct answer ✔✔Positive impact on patient
outcomes
-Greater patient satisfaction
-Improved psychological symptoms and ability to cope
-Improved physical symptoms
-Greater recall and adherence to treatment plan
-Positive health behavior change
-Reduced length of hospital stay
Positive impact on physicians
-More information available for medical decision-making
-Greater satisfaction with the patient encounter
-Increased comfort discussing difficult or sensitive issues
Common Communication Deficiencies in Clinical Medicine - correct answer ✔✔Interruption of
patients early in the encounter
Failure to identify and prioritize patient concerns
Missed opportunities to understand and acknowledge the patient's ideas and feelings
Failure to give bad news concisely and adequately
Minimizing patient's role in his/her health care
Failure to obtain adequate informed consent
Poor Physician Communication Skill Consequences - correct answer ✔✔Decreased patient
satisfaction
,Poorer health outcomes
Decreased patient compliance with treatment recommendations
Greater disenrollment from care
More malpractice suits
Why Medical Interview Important - correct answer ✔✔-About two-thirds of diagnoses can be
made on the basis of the history alone despite modern technological advances.
-An accurate history also provides focus to the physical examination, making it more productive
and time efficient.
Why learn the skill of medical interviewing - correct answer ✔✔The most cost-effective
diagnostic tool
The most frequently performed medical procedure (>100,000 interviews/physician career)
Provides the opportunity to develop meaningful and caring relationships with patients
Create a therapeutic alliance (facilitates healing)
Gives direction to the physical exam
Provides the foundation for the formulation of an accurate differential diagnosis (clinical
reasoning
Why is the PE important? - correct answer ✔✔Contributes significantly to accurate diagnosis
and management of disease
-Efficient and cost-effective
Some diseases can only be diagnosed by physical exam
-Cellulitis, herpes zoster, Bell's palsy, pericarditis, Parkinson's disease
Many diagnoses require correlation between diagnostic studies and physical exam findings
Evidence-based data to support the validity and reliability of physical exam findings
Fundamental Qualities of Mindful Physicians - correct answer ✔✔1-Observation
, 2-Curosity
3-Beginner's Mind
4-Presence
Becoming Mindful - correct answer ✔✔1-Priming
2-Being available
3-Reflective Questions
4-Active Engagement
5-Thinking aloud
6-Practice
7-Self-Monitoring
8-Assesment
It's late on a Friday afternoon and you are tired. Your 15th and last patient, a 62 year old recent
widower, is particularly challenging because he has come in frequently during the last three
months, each time complaining of a new ache or pain. You have been unable to find a physical
cause for his complaints, and come to the conclusion that his symptoms are part of his grieving
process. Your offers to refer him to a support group were rejected, and he seems to have no
insight at all. Which of the following questions represents mindfulness, and is most important to
contemplate in order to make this encounter more successful, for you and for the patient?
A. How do I feel about patients with psychosomatic illness?
B. To whom can I refer this patient?
C. How do I feel about the fact that he has rejected my efforts to help him with his real
problem, the recent loss of his wife?
D. Can I help him see that his problem - correct answer ✔✔C. is correct because it explores the
clinician's own emotions at a specific point in time. Mindfulness is always a useful strategy when
you seem stuck with a patient. A (an example of self-awareness) might also be useful since it
addresses general beliefs regarding patients who suffer from psychosomatic conditions. Options
B and E may provide temporary relief, but will not help you work with similar patients who will
