Example

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Writing Effective Test Questions for the Basic and Clinical Sciences

Carolyn L. Cambor, M.D.

Department of Pathology

Jennifer R. Kogan, M.D.

Department of Medicine

FAPD Series

September 29, 2010

Materials adapted from the National Board of Medical Examiners

Objectives

Describe the item types currently used by the NBME & the rationale for their use

Describe the steps in writing A-type items

Basic Sciences

Clinical Sciences

Identify technical flaws in test items & understand the importance of avoiding them

Advance your skills in writing A-type test items

If time permits, describe and practice writing

R-type test items

2

Steps in Test Development

Test purpose

Testing time and method of administration

Test standardization

Test content

Number of items

Item format

Develop items

Item selection and evaluation

3

Why learn how to write test items?

Ensure that your items are:

Clear & understandable

Test what you want to test

Fair

Provide reproducible results

Avoid technical “flaws”

Create confusion

Add unnecessary difficulty

May aid the “testwise student”

4

“Alphabet Soup” of Item Types

True-false

X (simple true/false)

K (complex true/false) “1,2,3”, “1,3”, “2,4” “all”

C (A/B/Both/Neither)

In general, not recommended; not used in Mod1,2

If used, must be clear, unambiguous with options that are

100% T or 100% F

One-best answer

A (4 or more options)

B (4 or 5 option matching sets in sets of 2 –5 items)

R (extended matching items in sets of 2-20 items)

5

A-Type Item: Components

 Stem Longest part of the item

Sufficient information to answer the lead-in question.

 Lead-in

 Options

The question being asked

The correct answer and

3-4 distractors

6

A-type Item

Stem: A 65-year-old man has difficulty rising from a seated position and straightening his trunk, but he has no difficulty flexing his leg.

Lead-in: Which of the following muscles is most likely to have been injured?

Options: A. Gluteus maximus*

B. Gluteus minimus

C. Hamstrings

D. Iliopsoas

E. Obturator internus

Answer

Distractors

7

Good, A-Type Items Have a Distinctive Shape

Stem

Lead In

Option A (distractor)

Option B (answer)

Option C (distractor)

Option D (distractor)

Option E (distractor)

8

Poorly shaped A-type item

Short stem & lead-in a. Long option b. Long option c. Long option d. Long option

9

6 Rules for Writing A-type Items

Basic Sciences

1) Focus on important topics.

Ideally based on your objectives.

2) Pose problems, or clinical decision-making tasks that are within the education/experience of examinees.

3) Assess application of knowledge, not recall.

4) Provide sufficient information in the stem and pose a clear question in the leadin. “Cover the options rule”

5) Use homogeneous distractors

6) Avoid technical flaws and unnecessary difficulty

10

6 Rules for Writing A-type Items:

Basic Sciences

1) Focus on important topics.

Ideally based on your objectives.

2) Pose problems, or clinical decision-making tasks that are within the education/experience of examinees.

3) Assess application of knowledge, not recall.

4) Provide sufficient information in the stem and pose a clear question in the leadin. “Cover the options rule”

5) Use homogeneous distractors

6) Avoid technical flaws and unnecessary difficulty

11

6 Rules for Writing A-type Items:

Basic Sciences

1) Focus on important topics.

Ideally based on your objectives.

2) Pose problems, or clinical decision-making tasks that are within the education/experience of examinees.

3) Assess application of knowledge, not recall.

4) Provide sufficient information in the stem and pose a clear question in the leadin. “Cover the options rule”

5) Use homogeneous distractors

6) Avoid technical flaws and unnecessary difficulty

12

Example – Recall or Application?

What area of the brain is supplied by blood from the posterior inferior cerebellar artery?

A) Location 1

B) Location 2

C) Location 3

D) Location 4

Recall item: rote memory of isolated fact

13

Example – Recall or Application?

A 62-year-old man develops left sided limb ataxia,

Horner’s syndrome, nystagmus, and loss of appreciation of facial pain and temperature sensations.

Which artery is most likely to be occluded?

A) Artery A

B) Artery B

C) Artery C

D) Artery D

Application of knowledge:

Reach a conclusion, make a prediction, select a course of action

14

6 Rules for Writing A-type Items:

Basic Sciences

1) Focus on important topics.

Ideally based on your objectives.

2) Pose problems, or clinical decision-making tasks that are within the education/experience of examinees.

3) Assess application of knowledge, not recall.

4) Provide sufficient information in the stem and pose a clear question in the leadin. “Cover the options rule”

5) Use homogeneous distractors

6) Avoid technical flaws and unnecessary difficulty

15

Cover the Options Rule

Stem

Lead in

Options a-e

16

Example – Cover the Options

A 62-year-old man develops left sided limb ataxia,

Horner’s syndrome, nystagmus, and loss of appreciation of facial pain and temperature sensations.

Which artery is most likely to be occluded?

A) Artery A

B) Artery B

C) Artery C

D) Artery D

17

Example – Cover the Options

A 62-year-old man develops left sided limb ataxia,

Horner’s syndrome, nystagmus, and loss of appreciation of facial pain and temperature sensations.

Which artery is most likely to be occluded?

A) Artery A

B) Artery B

C) Artery C

D) Artery D

18

Writing the Stem

Avoid

“Which of the following statements is correct?”

“Each of the following statements is correct

EXCEPT…”

Because

Unfocused stems

Don’t follow “cover the options” rule

Heterogeneous options mix of epidemiology, genetics, mechanisms etc

19

Poorly worded stem:

 True statements about cystic fibrosis (CF) include:

1. The incidence of CF is 1:2000

2. Children with CF usually die in their teens.

3. Males with CF are sterile

4. CF is an autosomal recessive disease

20

Patient vignettes are good for “stems”

Patient vignettes (stem)

 brief for basic sciences

• should not require patient care expertise

• age gender site of care presenting complaint

 duration

• +/- family history

+/- results of diagnostic tests; initial treatment, etc material needs to be taught with clinical relevance

Lead in

Clearly focused question

21

Patient Vignette Templates: Basic Sciences

 A (patient description) has a (type of injury, location).

Which of the following structures is most likely to be affected?

 A (patient description) has (signs & symptoms).

These observations suggest that the disease is a result of the (absence or presence) of which of the following (enzymes, mechanisms) ?

 A (patient description) dies of (disease).

Which of the following is the most likely finding on autopsy?

22

Patient Vignette Templates: Basic Sciences

 Which of the following is the most likely mechanism of the therapeutic effect of this (drug class) in patients with (disease) ?

 (time period) after a (event, such as a trip or meal w/ certain foods) a (patient or group description) became ill with (symptoms and signs).

Which of the following (organisms, agents) is most likely to be found on analysis of (food)?

23

Physiology: Patient Vignette

During an operation, the arterial PCO2, and pH of an anesthetized patient are monitored. The patient is being ventilated by a mechanical respirator, and the initial values are normal (PCO2=40 mm Hg; pH=7.42).

If the ventilation is decreased, which of the following is most likely to occur?

Arterial pCO2

A. decrease

B. decrease

C. decrease

D. increase *

E. increase

F. increase pH

A. decrease

B. increase

C. no change

D. decrease *

E. increase

F. no change

24

Microbiology: Patient Vignette

At a banquet, the menu included fried chicken, homefried potatoes, peas, chocolate eclairs and coffee. Within 2 hours most of the diners became violently ill, with nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Analysis of the contaminated food is most likely to yield large numbers of which of the following organisms?

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

Escherechia coli

Proteus mirabilis

Salmonella typhimurium

Staphylococcus aureus*

Streptococcus faecalis

25

Lab Vignettes are good for Basic Sciences

“Lab”-vignettes

 laboratory examples

 research examples

 biochemical pathways

 drug metabolism

26

Biochemistry: Lab Vignette

A B

III

C

IV

D

I

II

V

E

IV

In the branched metabolic pathway, a different single enzyme catalyzes each of the individual steps. The enzyme that would be expected to be most severely inhibited by compound V is enzyme :

A. A

B. B *

C. C

D. D

E. E 27

Pharmacology: Lab Vignette

Drug Y has a volume of distribution of 75 L in both younger and older adult men. In younger adults, it has a clearance rate of

15L / h, 50% of which is via the liver and 50% via the kidneys. For younger men, the maintenance regimen is 100 mg every 6 hours.

Which of the following regimens will produce essentially the same steady-state concentration in an older man, whose creatinine clearance is half that of younger men, but whose hepatic function is unimpaired?

A.

75 mg every 3 hrs

B.

75 mg every 6 hrs *

C.

75 mg every 9 hours

D.

100 mg every 3 hours

E.

100 mg every 6 hours

F.

100 mg every 12 hours

28

Basic Sciences: Integrated Items

Physiology / Pharmacology

Microbiology / Pharmacology

Pathology / Pharmacology

Pathology / Pathophysiology

 Stem describes one component, options ask about another

 1 stem is used for 2+ questions, on different topics

 Guidelines:

Team preparation

Avoid “cueing”

Avoid “hinging”

29

Integrated Items - Example

An unresponsive 58 year old woman is brought to the ED after collapsing at a local shopping center.

More history. Physical signs describe a neurologic deficit.

1.

The dilated, unreactive left pupil is most consistent with injury to the left

List of anatomic structures

2.

The extensor posturing on the right is most consistent with injury to the left

List of anatomic structures

3.

Which of the following herniation syndromes is most consistent with her clinical presentation?

List of herniation syndromes

30

Patient Vignettes: Clinical Sciences

Include

– age, gender

– site of care presenting complaint

– duration patient history physical findings

+/- diagnostic studies

+/- initial treatment

Stems should

– not be completely based on real patients

– include reference material when it would be realistic in practice not use the patient’s or doctor’s own words not include patients who lie

31

Non-vignettes in the Clinical Sciences

The most likely renal abnormality in children with nephrotic syndrome and normal renal function is

A.

Acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis

B.

Hemolytic-uremic syndrome

C.

Minimal change disease

D.

Focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis

E.

Schonlein-Henoch purpura

A B C D

Hi 1

Lo 8

0

1

99

90

0

1

E

0

0

32

Short Vignette

A 2 year old boy has a 1 week history of edema. His blood pressure is 100/60 mmHg and there is generalized edema and ascites. Labs show Cr 0.4

mg/dL, albumin 1.4 g/dL and cholesterol of 569 mg/dL.

UA shows 4+ protein and no blood. The most likely diagnosis is

A B

Hi 0

Lo 5

0

2

C D

98 2

82 8

E

0

1

33

Long Vignette

A 2 year old black child developed swelling of his eyes and ankles over the past week. Blood pressure is 100/60 mmHg, pulse 110/min respirations 28/min. Exam shows swelling of eyes, abdominal distention and a positive fluid wave.

Labs show Cr 0.4 mg/dL, albumin

1.4 g/dL and cholesterol of 569 mg/dL.UA shows 4+ protein and no blood. The most likely diagnosis is

A

Hi 0

B

1

Lo 10 9

C D

98 1

66 10

E

0

5

34

Writing the Lead-In: Clinical Sciences

Diagnosis

Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

Which of the following is the most appropriate next step in diagnosis?

Management

Which of the following is the most appropriate next step in patient care?

Mechanisms of disease

Which of the following is the most likely pathogen?

Which of the following is the most likely explanation for the findings?

35

6 Rules for Writing A-type Questions

1)

Focus on important topics.

Ideally based on course / activity objectives.

2) Pose problems, or clinical decision-making tasks that are within the education/experience of examinees.

3)

4)

Assess application of knowledge, not recall.

Provide sufficient information in the stem and pose a clear question in the leadin. “Cover the options rule”

5) Use homogeneous distractors

6) Avoid technical flaws and unnecessary difficulty

36

Writing the Options

 Homogeneous in content

 Grammatically consistent with stem

 Similar in construction and length

 Alphabetized or logically ordered

 Incorrect/inferior to the correct answer

 choice affects question difficulty

 Plausible/attractive to uninformed

 no distracter should be obviously incorrect

 Each should be chosen by some

37

Easy Distractors

Who was the primary author of the

Declaration of Independence?

A. Abraham Lincoln

B. Thomas Jefferson*

C. Franklin Roosevelt

D. King George II

E. Catherine the Great

38

More Difficult Distractors

Who was the primary author of the

Declaration of Independence?

A. George Washington

B. Thomas Jefferson*

C. Alexander Hamilton

D. Benjamin Franklin

E. James Madison

39

6 Rules for Writing A-type Questions

1) Focus on important topics.

Ideally based on course / activity objectives.

2) Pose problems, or clinical decision-making tasks that are within the education/experience of examinees.

3) Assess application of knowledge, not recall.

4) Provide sufficient information in the stem and pose a clear question in the leadin. “Cover the options rule”

5) Use homogeneous distractors

6) Avoid technical flaws and unnecessary difficulty

40

Technical Item Flaws

Issues Related to

“Testwiseness”

Issues related to

Irrelevant Difficulty

41

Assess Your “Testwiseness”

Testwise Analysis

The primary purpose of the stam is to remove the carm

 denton menace stam bar

43

Testwise Analysis

The primary purpose of the stam is to remove the carm

 denton menace stam bar

“Word repeats” in stem and answer

44

Testwise Analysis

 Which of the following pairs has won the greatest number of Abby awards?

Jones and Smith

Smith and Taylor

Smith and White

White and Allen

45

Testwise Analysis

 Which of the following pairs has won the greatest number of Abby awards?

Jones and Smith

Smith and Taylor

Smith and White

White and Allen

Convergence: correct answer has the most in common with other choices

46

Testwise Analysis

How many pounds of pressure are exerted by a callam?

2.6

150

260

2600

47

Testwise Analysis

How many pounds of pressure are exerted by a callam?

2.6

150

260

2600

Convergence: Correct answer has the most in common with other choices

48

Testwise Analysis

The stanon is aided by a instel immon octal port

49

Testwise Analysis

The stanon is aided by a instel immon octal port

Grammatical cues: only “port” follows grammatically from the stem

50

Testwise Analysis

The stanon frequently overheats because all grestels are bilious no immon are directly fectitious octals are usually casable ports are always critical

51

Testwise Analysis

The stanon frequently overheats because all grestels are bilious no immon are directly fectitious octals are usually casable ports are always critical

Absolute terms: never found in the correct answer

52

Testwise Analysis

Stammation normally occurs when the anstels rupture immon falls and the denton is in place octal rotates easily ports pass over the carm

53

Testwise Analysis

Stammation normally occurs when the anstels rupture immon falls and the denton is in place octal rotates easily ports pass over the carm

Longest answer is usually the correct answer

54

Testwiseness: Grammatical Cues

The option(s) does not flow from the stem

Example

The minor differences among organisms of the same kind are known as

A. Heredity

B. Variations

C. Adaptation

D. Natural selection

55

Testwiseness: Logical Cues

A subset of options are collectively exhaustive

Example

Crime is

A. Equally distributed among the social classes

B. Overrepresented among the poor

C. Overrepresented among the middle class and rich

D. Primarily an indication of psychosexual maladjustment

E. Reaching a plateau of tolerability for the nation

56

Testwiseness: Absolute Terms

Terms such as ‘always’ or ‘never’ are used in options

Example

In patients with advanced dementia, Alzheimer’s type, the memory defect

A. Can be treated adequately with lecithin

B. Could be a sequela of early parkinsonism

C. Is never seen in patients with neurofibrillary tangles

C. Is never severe

D. Possibly involves the cholinergic system

57

Testwiseness: Long Correct Answer

The correct answer is longer, more specific, or more complete than the other options.

Example:

Secondary gain is

A. Synonymous with malingering

B. A frequent problem in obsessive-compulsive disorder

C. A complication of a variety of illnesses and tends to prolong many of them

D. Never seen in organic brain damage

58

Testwiseness: Word Repeats

A word or phrase is included in the stem and correct answer.

Example:

A 58-year-old man with a history of heavy alcohol use and previous psychiatric hospitalization is confused and agitated.

He speaks of experiencing the world as unreal. This symptom is called

A. Depersonalization

B. Derailment

C. Derealization*

D. Focal memory defect

59

Testwiseness: Convergence

The correct answer includes the most elements in common with the other options

Example:

Local anesthetics are most effective in the

A. Anionic form, acting from inside the nerve membrane

B. Cationic form, acting from inside the nerve membrane*

C. Cationic form, acting from outside the nerve membrane

D. Uncharged form, acting from inside the nerve membrane

E. Uncharged form, acting from outside the nerve membrane

60

Technical Item Flaws

Issues Related to

“Testwiseness”

Issues related to

Irrelevant Difficulty

61

Irrelevant Difficulty :

Options are long, complicated or doubled

Systematic geography differs from regional geography in that

A.

Systematic geography deals, in the main, with physical geography, while regional geography concerns itself essentially with the field of human geography

B. Systematic geography studies a region systematically while regional geography is concerned only with descriptive account of a region

C. Systematic geography studies a single phenomenon in its distribution over the earth in order to supply generalizations for regional geography, which studies the arrangement of phenomena in one given area*

62

Irrelevant Difficulty:

Numeric data are not stated consistently

Following a second episode of infection, what is the likelihood that a woman is infertile?

A. Less than 20%

B. 20% to 30%

C. Greater than 50%

D. 90%

E. 75%

63

Irrelevant Difficulty:

Frequency terms in options are vague

Severe obesity in early adolescence

A.

Usually responds dramatically to dietary regimens

B.

Often is related to endocrine disorders

C.

D.

E.

Has a 75% change of clearing spontaneously

Shows a poor prognosis

Usually responds to pharmacotherapy and intensive psychotherapy

64

Irrelevant Difficulty:

Language in options not parallel

In a vaccine trial, 200 2-year-old boys were given a vaccine against a certain disease and then monitored for five years for occurrence of disease. Of this group, 85% never contracted the disease.

Which of the following statements concerning these results is correct?

A.

No conclusions can be drawn since no follow-up was made of non-vaccinated children

B.

C.

D.

The number of cases (I.e. 30 cases over five years) is too small for statistically meaningful conclusions

No conclusions can be drawn because the trial involved only boys

Vaccine efficacy (%) is calculated as 85-15/100

65

Irrelevant Difficulty:

Options in an non-logical order

The population of Denmark is

A. 2 million

B. 15 million

C. 4 million

D. 7 million

66

Irrelevant Difficulty:

“None of the Above” used as option

Which city is closest to New York City?

A. Boston

B. Chicago

C. Dallas

D. Los Angeles

E. None of the above

67

Irrelevant Difficulty:

Complicated Stems and Options

Arrange the parents of the following children with Down’s syndrome in order of highest to lowest risk of recurrence.

Assume that the maternal age in all cases is 22 years and that a subsequent pregnancy occurs within 5 years.

The karyotypes of the daughters are (see next slide)

68

Complicated Stems and Answers

I. 46, XX, -14, +T (14q21q)pat

II.

46, XX, -14, +T(14q21q) de novo

III.

46, XX, -14, +T (14q21q) mat

IV.

46, XX, -21, +T (14q21q)pat

V.

47, XX, -21, +T (21q21q) parents not typed

A.

III, IV, I, V, II

B.

IV, III, V, I, II

C.

III, I, IV, V, II

D.

IV, III, I, V, II

E.

III, IV, I II, V

69

Irrelevant Difficulty

“Window Dressing”

“Red Herrings”

70

Basic Science Examples for Discussion

Which one of the following sets of laboratory studies is most consistent with a diagnosis of anemia of chronic inflammation?

(Inc means increased level, Dec means decreased level)

Ferritin TIBC Serum Iron Soluble Transferrin Receptor

A. Inc Inc Dec Dec

B. Dec Inc Dec Inc

C. Inc Dec Dec Inc

D. Inc Dec Dec Normal

72

A 16 year old girl presents with a sore throat of 4 months duration. She describes feeling a lump in her throat.

Physical exam reveals a 1 cm cystic lesion at the base of the tongue.

This developmental lesion most likely arises as a remnant of which of the following anatomic structures?

A.

Auditory tube

B.

Branchial arches

C.

Facial fusion lines

D.

Rudimentary thymus

E.

Thyroglossal duct

73

All of the carbons in cholesterol are derived from:

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

choline sphingosine acetyl CoA

HMG-CoA reductase

CO2

74

What is the most likely inheritance pattern of the following pedigree?

A.

Autosomal recessive

B.

Autosomal dominant

C.

X-linked recessive

D.

X-linked dominant

E.

Mitochondrial

75

Clinical Science

Examples

A 64 year old male is admitted to the hospital with 3 days of progressive shortness of breath. He has a medical history of poorly controlled hypertension. He denies tobacco or alcohol use. On physical examination he is afebrile, pulse 100, respiratory rate 26, blood pressure 180/110 mmHg and room air oxygen saturation 91%.

Examination of the lungs reveals bilateral crackles and his cardiac exam reveals a diffuse, laterally displaced point of maximal impulse, a soft S3 and loud S4. Abdominal exam and extremity exams are normal.

A chest Xray reveals bilateral alveolar infiltrates and an electrocardiogram is remarkable for left ventricular hypertrophy. Which of the following is the next best step in management?

A.

Administer intravenous furosemide for diuresis

B.

Administer oral morphine

C.

Start oral beta blocker

D.

Administer chewable aspirin

E.

None of the above

77

A 72 year old female presents to her physician with progressive bilateral knee pain for 3 months. The pain is worse with ambulation and increases in severity during the day. She denies trauma or pain in other joints. On physical examination she is afebrile. Her body mass index is

31. Her knees are warm bilaterally but without effusion. There is bilateral crepitus. There is no instability. The remainder of her examination is normal. Plain xrays of the knees demonstrates narrowing of the joint space, marginal osteophytes and subcondral sclerosis. Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

A. Osteoporosis

B. Osteoarthritis

C. Osteogenesis imperfecta

D. Rheumatoid arthritis

E. Pseudogout

78

A 42 year old female presents to her physician for a routine medical examination. She has no specific concerns. Her blood pressure is noted to be 170/80 mm Hg. Which of the following sounds auscultatory findings corresponds to the systolic and diastolic readings?

A.

The systolic reading is the first appearance of the Korotkoff sounds and the diastolic reading is the disappearance of the

Korotkoff sounds

B.

C.

The systolic reading is the regular appearance of the Korotkoff sounds and the diastolic reading is the muffling of the Korotkoff sounds.

The systolic reading is the regular appearance of the Korotkoff sounds and the diastolic reading is the disappearance of the

Korotkoff sounds

D.

The systolic reading is the first appearance of the Korotkoff sounds and the diastolic reading is the muffling of the Korotkoff sounds.

79

A 42 year old female presents to her physician for a routine medical examination. She has no specific concerns. Her blood pressure is noted to be 170/80 mm Hg.

Which of the following sounds best corresponds to the blood pressure reading?

170

A.

First Korotkoff sound

80

Disappearance of Korotkoff sounds

B.

Regular Korotkoff sounds Muffling of Korotkoff sounds

C.

Regular Korotkoff sounds Disappearance of Korotkoff sounds

D.

First Korotkoff sounds Muffling of Korotkoff sounds .

80

Practice Time!

R-Type Items

Extended Matching

Extended Matching: R-type Items

Four components

1.

2.

3.

4.

A theme

An option list

A lead-in statement

At least 2 item stems

83

R-type itemTheme: Cerebrovascular anatomy

A. Left anterior cerebral artery E. Left posterior cerebral artery

B. Right anterior cerebral artery F. Right posterior cerebral artery

C. Left middle cerebral artery G. Left lenticulostriate arteries

D. Right middle cerebral artery H. Right lenticulostriate arteries

For each patient with neurological abnormalities presented below, select the artery that is most likely to be involved from the list above.

1. A 72-year-old right-handed man has weakness and hyperreflexia of the right lower limb, an extensor plantar response on the right, normal strength of the right arm, and normal facial movements. Answer: A

2. A 68-year-old right-handed man has right spastic hemiparesis, an extensor plantar response on the right, and paralysis of the lower two-thirds of his face on the right. His speech is fluent, and he has normal comprehension of verbal and written commands. Answer: G

84

Sample Lead-ins and Topics for Option Lists

For each of the following patients, select the most likely ( cause ).

Underlying mechanism of disease, medications, toxic agents…

For each of the following patients select the (eg, nerve) that is most like to be (abnormal, defective, deficient, nonfunctioning).

-lists of nerves, muscles, enzymes, hormones, proteins, types of cells, pathologic processes, neurotransmitters

For each of the following patients, select the ( finding ) that would be expected.

Laboratory results, physical signs…

85

More sample lead-ins & topics for option lists

 For each of the following patients, select the

[ eg, drug] that should be administered.

 For each of the following patients with [chief complaint], select the most likely diagnosis.

 For each of the following patients, select the most appropriate next step in patient care.

(drugs, lab tests, disposition choices)

86

Options Sets in R-Type Items

 Arteries

Nerves

Muscles

Amino acids

Peptides

Hormones

Enzymes

Cell components

Cell types

Blood components

Diagnoses

 Karyotypes

Proteins

Lipids

Pathogens

Cytokines

Anatomic structures

Metabolic defects

Organelles

Drugs/drug classes

ECM components

Diagnostic tests

87

Writing the Item Stems for R-Type Items

 Patient vignettes

 Use for basic & clinical science questions

 Homogeneous in construction

Include same demographic features in each one

All the same age group

 Make sure only one best answer and usually

4 distractors

88

Steps in writing R-type items

 Identify the theme first

 Write the lead-in statement

 List all the options

 Write the vignettes (stems)

 Review the item

Be sure there is only ONE single best answer for each stem

Be sure each item has several distractors

89

R-Type Item: Good Example

 Theme: Fatigue

 Lead in: For each patient with fatigue, select the most likely diagnosis.

 Options: Many causes of fatigue (anemia,

CHF, depression, infections etc)

 Vignettes: 2 or more that correspond to diagnoses in your list

90

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