MDCG Medical Exam case studies
MDCG Medical Exam · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The MDCG Medical Exam is a multiple-choice assessment built around the competencies expected of a medical credentialing candidate: legal and ethical foundations, day-to-day patient care, diagnostic reasoning, therapeutics, public health and prevention, documentation and administration, emergency and critical care, and quality and safety. The eight domains are not weighted equally - diagnostic testing and clinical reasoning carries the largest share, followed by law/ethics, patient care, and pharmacology - so a candidate who spreads effort evenly will under-prepare for the sections that decide the outcome. The MDCG Medical Exam case studies are 5 cases and about 2,914 words.
1Confidential STI Testing for a Minor on a Parent's Insurance Plan
A 16-year-old high school student presents alone to a community clinic requesting testing for chlamydia and gonorrhea after a sexual encounter three weeks ago. She has no symptoms, is covered by her parents' commercial insurance plan, and explicitly asks that nothing be sent to her home.
626 words, about 3 min2Hypercalcemia on a Thiazide: Surgery or Observation?
A 61-year-old woman is referred for evaluation of incidentally discovered hypercalcemia. Two years ago serum calcium was 10.1 mg/dL (reference 8.6–10.2).
564 words, about 3 min3Supratherapeutic INR After Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole
A 76-year-old man with atrial fibrillation takes warfarin 5 mg daily, and his INR has been stable between 2.2 and 2.8 for 14 months. He presents to urgent care with dysuria and frequency.
566 words, about 3 min4Septic Shock Not Responding to Initial Fluids
A 68-year-old woman is brought from a nursing home with fever, confusion, and hypotension. She has type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and a chronic indwelling urinary catheter.
555 words, about 3 min5Same-Last-Name Specimen Mislabeling Near Miss
In a 220-bed community hospital, a phlebotomist labels two blood tubes at the bedside of a 54-year-old man in room 412. A second patient with the same last name, a 72-year-old man, is in room 421.
603 words, about 3 min