PCM EXAM 2025 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
Mrs. Johnson is presenting to your office for a new patient visit today. She is 82 years old and
lives in an assisted living facility. As you would like to determine her level of functioning, you
ask about her activities of daily living. Which of the below is an ADL?
Cooking
Continence
Managing medications
Managing money
Transportation - ANS Continence
Continence is an ADL (activity of daily living). All of the other choices are IADLs (instrumental
activities are things you need to live independently).
You are seeing a 90 year old woman in your office. She is living in an assisted living facility and
by patient and family report managing quite well. You are aware that falls can cause morbidity
in this age group. A useful tool for evaluating a patient's fall risk is:
The Folstein MMSE
The Timed Get Up and Go test
The Balance inventory
The Home safety assessment
The CAGE questionnaire - ANS The Timed Get Up and Go test
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,The Get up and Go test is the only one of the tests which tests mobility. The CAGE
Questionnaire is for substance abuse. The MMSE tests mental status but not functional status.
The Home Safety assessment may look for things that can cause falls but do not assess the
patient's risk. The Balance Inventory does not exist.
Mild Cognitive impairment
With no other signs and symptoms of depression, delirium or outright dementia, mild cognitive
impairment is the only possible choice. - ANS Mr. Brooke is a 59 year old man who is brought
to clinic by his wife over concerns of memory loss. Mr. Brooke has frequently been forgetting
things such as where he placed his keys and if he closed the garage at night. He forgot to go to
his dentist's appointment last week. He has not shown signs of impaired judgment or
reasoning. Mr. Brooke continues to work as a janitor and routinely attends his Friday night
poker game with his friends. What is the most likely cause of Mr. Brooke's memory loss?
Mild Cognitive impairment
Depression
Dementia
Delirium
You have recently joined a busy Family Medicine practice where you have 30 minutes allotted
to see each patient. A 77 year old woman comes in for one of your appointments. She seems a
bit confused. What is the MOST EFFICIENT and effective method to evaluate her cognition?
Mini-mental status exam
Recall of 3 items in 1 minute
Clock drawing test
Mini-cog (3 item recall + clock draw test) - ANS Mini-cog (3 item recall + clock draw test)
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, The mini-cog is the best screening tool available for quick assessment of a patient's cognitive
abilities. The combination of 3 item recall and clock draw is superior to one alone. The MMSE
would be a more extensive examination and would require a longer appointment. If the Mini-
cog is positive, you can schedule a longer appointment to do the MMSE.
You are assessing a patient's spine and you note excess lordosis of the lumbar spine. This is
suggestive of which of the following
reverse scoliosis
dislocation of the hip
flexion deformity of the hip
hip fracture
thoracic spine disease - ANS flexion deformity of the hip
Excessive lordosis of the spine is often compensation for an inability to flex the hip properly.
A mother brings her 12-year old daughter for evaluation of scoliosis. What is the name of the
examination that you will perform?
The Adamant test
The Lachman test
The Anterior Bend Test
The Scoliosis Test
The Adam's Test - ANS The Adam's Test
The screening test for scoliosis is called the Adam's test.
A 49 yo man complains of pain shooting down his left leg, with numbness and tingling below his
knee. He also has pain in his lower back. He is unable to recall any inciting event. When you
Copyright ©2025 BRIGHTSTARS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
ANSWERS
Mrs. Johnson is presenting to your office for a new patient visit today. She is 82 years old and
lives in an assisted living facility. As you would like to determine her level of functioning, you
ask about her activities of daily living. Which of the below is an ADL?
Cooking
Continence
Managing medications
Managing money
Transportation - ANS Continence
Continence is an ADL (activity of daily living). All of the other choices are IADLs (instrumental
activities are things you need to live independently).
You are seeing a 90 year old woman in your office. She is living in an assisted living facility and
by patient and family report managing quite well. You are aware that falls can cause morbidity
in this age group. A useful tool for evaluating a patient's fall risk is:
The Folstein MMSE
The Timed Get Up and Go test
The Balance inventory
The Home safety assessment
The CAGE questionnaire - ANS The Timed Get Up and Go test
Copyright ©2025 BRIGHTSTARS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,The Get up and Go test is the only one of the tests which tests mobility. The CAGE
Questionnaire is for substance abuse. The MMSE tests mental status but not functional status.
The Home Safety assessment may look for things that can cause falls but do not assess the
patient's risk. The Balance Inventory does not exist.
Mild Cognitive impairment
With no other signs and symptoms of depression, delirium or outright dementia, mild cognitive
impairment is the only possible choice. - ANS Mr. Brooke is a 59 year old man who is brought
to clinic by his wife over concerns of memory loss. Mr. Brooke has frequently been forgetting
things such as where he placed his keys and if he closed the garage at night. He forgot to go to
his dentist's appointment last week. He has not shown signs of impaired judgment or
reasoning. Mr. Brooke continues to work as a janitor and routinely attends his Friday night
poker game with his friends. What is the most likely cause of Mr. Brooke's memory loss?
Mild Cognitive impairment
Depression
Dementia
Delirium
You have recently joined a busy Family Medicine practice where you have 30 minutes allotted
to see each patient. A 77 year old woman comes in for one of your appointments. She seems a
bit confused. What is the MOST EFFICIENT and effective method to evaluate her cognition?
Mini-mental status exam
Recall of 3 items in 1 minute
Clock drawing test
Mini-cog (3 item recall + clock draw test) - ANS Mini-cog (3 item recall + clock draw test)
Copyright ©2025 BRIGHTSTARS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
, The mini-cog is the best screening tool available for quick assessment of a patient's cognitive
abilities. The combination of 3 item recall and clock draw is superior to one alone. The MMSE
would be a more extensive examination and would require a longer appointment. If the Mini-
cog is positive, you can schedule a longer appointment to do the MMSE.
You are assessing a patient's spine and you note excess lordosis of the lumbar spine. This is
suggestive of which of the following
reverse scoliosis
dislocation of the hip
flexion deformity of the hip
hip fracture
thoracic spine disease - ANS flexion deformity of the hip
Excessive lordosis of the spine is often compensation for an inability to flex the hip properly.
A mother brings her 12-year old daughter for evaluation of scoliosis. What is the name of the
examination that you will perform?
The Adamant test
The Lachman test
The Anterior Bend Test
The Scoliosis Test
The Adam's Test - ANS The Adam's Test
The screening test for scoliosis is called the Adam's test.
A 49 yo man complains of pain shooting down his left leg, with numbness and tingling below his
knee. He also has pain in his lower back. He is unable to recall any inciting event. When you
Copyright ©2025 BRIGHTSTARS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
