Primary Care and Family Medicine
Primary Care and Family Medicine tests continuity, prevention, chronic disease follow-up, red flags, and appropriate referral. The exam expects community-oriented reasoning rather than hospital-only decision-making.
Core rules
- Screening: use age, sex, family history, and local risk; do not order tests without a management consequence.
- Chronic disease: set targets, check adherence, monitor complications, and involve the family when appropriate.
- Red flags: weight loss, hemoptysis, night sweats, persistent cough, bleeding, and focal neurologic deficits require urgent assessment.
- Referral: state the question, urgency, and pre-referral stabilization.
Worked example
A 50-year-old smoker has a cough for three weeks, hemoptysis, weight loss, and night sweats. Do not prescribe a cough suppressant. Arrange urgent chest imaging, sputum testing for tuberculosis, and referral. Reasoning: chronic cough with hemoptysis and systemic symptoms suggests tuberculosis or malignancy; early diagnosis changes outcome.
Traps
- Reassuring a patient with red flags without investigation.
- Treating bronchitis with antibiotics when bacterial infection is unlikely.
- Failing to document follow-up and referral.
- Ignoring vaccination and preventive care during acute visits.