You are discussing smoking cessation with a patient in their 60s newly diagnosed with COPD.
You wish to use the ‘stages of change’ model, which is comprised of:
A Action
B Contemplation
C Maintenance
D precontemplation
E Preparation
Which of the following correctly orders the listed stages in the ‘stages of change’ model?
You are asked to see a 25-year-old patient who has presented with a pigmented skin lesion on his back. He is concerned because his father was treated for a melanoma at the age of 38.
The presence of which of the following risk factors confers the greatest risk of developing a melanoma?
A hierarchy of quality in evidence-based medicine exists, with study types ranked according to the strength of their data. The study types are listed below.
Case report (CR)
Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (RCT)
Cohort study (CS)
Systematic review (SR)
Which of the following options correctly ranks these study types, with the most robust first and the least robust last?
A process that facilitates a collaborative communication structure between the teacher(s) and a group of educators in a subject area to generate ideas, requirements, goals or projections about a subject.
This describes which of the below options?
A researcher is analysing the data from a cohort study designed to assess the association between age and the development of arthritis. 1000 individuals aged 50 and over and 1000 individuals under the age of 50 participated. 450 of the older individuals and 50 of the younger individuals developed arthritis.
What is the relative risk for arthritis?
A teenager asks you for dietary advice about foods rich in vitamin D.
Which one of the following foods is the richest dietary source of vitamin D?
A 35-year-old baker is seen complaining of wheezy episodes and a tight chest.
In the past he has used a friend’s ‘blue’ inhaler which helped ease his symptoms. He feels that his symptoms are worse following a run of shifts in work and mentions that when he went on holiday in the summer for two weeks his chest improved significantly.
He has been in work today and on examination he has a mild diffuse wheeze audible throughout his chest.
What is the most appropriate next step?
A researcher conducts a study to show the impact of age on the development of a certain disease. The study has shown that individuals over the age of 50 and those under the age of 50 are equally likely to develop the disease. He reports that the relative risk (RR) of age on the development of the disease is –1. He is told by his supervisor that it is likely the value he has calculated for the RR is incorrect.
Explanation: The value of -1 for the relative risk is not possible as it suggests a negative association between smoking and the development of the disease, which is not biologically plausible. The relative risk should be greater than or equal to 1, indicating an increased risk for smokers compared to non-smokers.
What is the single conclusion that can be drawn from the findings of the Veterans Affairs Laryngeal Study Group in 1991, which compared two treatments for advanced laryngeal cancer – laryngectomy followed by radiotherapy versus chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy? The study randomly assigned 332 patients with advanced laryngeal cancer to one of the groups, and those in the chemotherapy group who did not respond to treatment underwent salvage laryngectomy. The results showed that both groups had a 2-year survival rate of 68%, but a higher percentage of chemotherapy patients (64%) were able to retain their larynx. Additionally, more local recurrences occurred in the chemotherapy group, while fewer distant metastases occurred in the same group.
What is the correct information about oseltamivir?