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 |
|---|---|
| Antenatal care | Booking bloods, screening, OGTT |
| Bleeding in pregnancy | Miscarriage, ectopic, praevia, abruption |
| Hypertension | Pre-eclampsia |
| Contraception | LARC |
| Screening | Cervical screening every 5 years |
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 · O&G
Which is the most effective reversible contraception?
- A Contraceptive implant
- B Combined oral pill
- C Male condom
- D Fertility awareness
- E Progestogen-only pill
Show the reasoning
Answer A. The etonogestrel implant has the lowest typical-use failure rate of reversible methods.
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 obstetrics and gynaecology questions
Questions from our Clinical Medicine bank. Choose your answer, then open the explanation.
A 26-year-old has right iliac fossa pain and a positive urine pregnancy test. She is haemodynamically stable. What is the most appropriate next investigation?
- ADiagnostic laparoscopy immediately
- BCT scan of the abdomen and pelvis
- CUrine microscopy and culture first
- DPlain abdominal X-ray in the department
- ETransvaginal ultrasound and serum hCG
Show answer and explanation
Answer E. Pain with a positive pregnancy test is ectopic pregnancy until proven otherwise. In a stable patient, transvaginal ultrasound with quantitative serum hCG locates the pregnancy.
Learning point: Pain + positive hCG: exclude ectopic with TVUS and serum hCG.
A woman at 28 weeks' gestation has a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test. Which result confirms gestational diabetes?
- A2-hour 7.9 mmol/L
- BFasting 4.9 mmol/L
- C1-hour 9.2 mmol/L
- D2-hour 8.7 mmol/L
- E1-hour 9.6 mmol/L
Show answer and explanation
Answer D. Using Australian (ADIPS/IADPSG) criteria, GDM is diagnosed if fasting ≥5.1, 1-hour ≥10.0 or 2-hour ≥8.5 mmol/L. A 2-hour value of 8.7 meets the criterion.
Learning point: GDM (75 g OGTT): fasting ≥5.1, 1 h ≥10.0, 2 h ≥8.5 mmol/L.
Ten minutes after a vaginal birth, a woman has lost 900 mL of blood. The uterus is soft and boggy. What is the first step?
- AArrange an urgent pelvic ultrasound
- BProceed to immediate hysterectomy
- CBimanual compression and a uterotonic
- DWait for the placenta to deliver itself
- ETransfuse platelets before anything else
Show answer and explanation
Answer C. Uterine atony is the commonest cause of postpartum haemorrhage. Call for help, rub up the uterus or use bimanual compression, and give uterotonics (oxytocin, then ergometrine, carboprost or misoprostol), with IV access and fluids.
Learning point: PPH from atony: uterine massage/bimanual compression and uterotonics first.
Practise more obstetrics and gynaecology questions free
Every obstetrics and gynaecology subtopic in our bank
The bank holds 10 obstetrics and gynaecology questions across 8 subtopics. You can filter by any of them, build a custom block and track your accuracy subtopic by subtopic.
- Antenatal1
- Antenatal care2
- Contraception1
- Early pregnancy1
- Gynaecology2
- Labour1
- Obstetric emergencies1
- Screening1
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.