What this area covers
Clinical-year assessments in Australian medical schools combine written exams (often single best answer questions) with OSCEs and workplace assessments at the end of each rotation and in final year. This page is for students in clinical years preparing for rotation exams and finals.
High-yield topics
| Topic | What to know |
|---|---|
| ABCDE | Structured assessment |
| Triage | Australasian Triage Scale |
| Sepsis | Antibiotics within the first hour |
| Trauma | Primary survey |
| Toxicology | Paracetamol and opioids |
OSCE approach
- Introduce yourself and confirm identity.
- Take a focused history or perform the examination asked.
- Summarise findings and give a differential.
- Explain the plan in plain language.
- Safety-net and check understanding.
Worked example
Worked question · ED
Which category of the Australasian Triage Scale requires immediate assessment?
- A Category 1
- B Category 2
- C Category 3
- D Category 4
- E Category 5
Show the reasoning
Answer A. ATS 1 is immediately life-threatening and needs immediate simultaneous assessment and treatment.
A short study plan
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Core presentations |
| 2 | Management and prescribing |
| 3 | OSCE practice and timed questions |
Do a short timed set most days and review every explanation, including the options you ruled out.
Common traps
- Learning lists without clinical reasoning.
- Ignoring Australian guidelines.
- Not practising OSCE stations aloud.
Free sample emergency medicine questions
Questions from our Clinical Medicine bank. Choose your answer, then open the explanation.
A patient took an unknown amount of paracetamol 5 hours ago. What determines treatment?
- ABlood alcohol level
- BUrine drug screen result
- CPupil size
- D4-hour paracetamol level
- EAn urgent liver ultrasound
Show answer and explanation
Answer D. A paracetamol level at 4 hours or later plotted on the nomogram decides acetylcysteine treatment.
Learning point: Paracetamol overdose: level on nomogram.
A 25-year-old has lip swelling, wheeze and BP 80/50 mmHg after a bee sting. What should be given first?
- AOral antihistamine
- BIV adrenaline bolus 1 mg
- CIM adrenaline 0.5 mg
- DIV hydrocortisone
- ENebulised salbutamol
Show answer and explanation
Answer C. IM adrenaline (0.01 mg/kg, maximum 0.5 mg) into the lateral thigh is the first treatment for anaphylaxis, repeated every 5 minutes as needed. Lay the patient flat.
Learning point: Anaphylaxis: IM adrenaline 0.01 mg/kg (max 0.5 mg) to lateral thigh.
During adult CPR, the rhythm is ventricular fibrillation. What is the correct sequence?
- AShock, then 2 minutes of CPR
- BAdrenaline before the first shock
- CAmiodarone before any shock
- DCheck pulse for 30 seconds
- ESynchronised cardioversion
Show answer and explanation
Answer A. In VF or pulseless VT, give a shock as soon as possible, then resume CPR immediately for 2 minutes before reassessing the rhythm. Adrenaline is given after the second shock, amiodarone after the third.
Learning point: VF/pVT: shock, 2 min CPR; adrenaline after 2nd shock, amiodarone after 3rd.
Practise more emergency medicine questions free
Every emergency medicine subtopic in our bank
The bank holds 10 emergency medicine questions across 6 subtopics. You can filter by any of them, build a custom block and track your accuracy subtopic by subtopic.
- Anaphylaxis2
- Environmental1
- Resuscitation2
- Sepsis1
- Toxicology2
- Trauma2
Common questions
Are there OSCE stations for this rotation?
Our clinical medicine product includes stations and cases to practise alongside questions.
Which guidelines should I follow?
Therapeutic Guidelines and Australian national guidelines.
Sources
Clinical content is summarised from current Australian guidance at the date above. Guidelines change, so always check the latest edition.