Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are frequently used at med schools to assess student learning that demonstrates clinical reasoning and sound assessment of possible outcomes in patient care. MCQs enable students to move beyond straightforward recall of facts and start making connections between and among clinical symptoms, biological processes, statistical data and images/graphs.
Pointers for working with Multiple Choice Questions
Identify the purpose of the question. Focus on how the question is directing attention on integrated aspects of patients’ signs and symptoms with afflictions.
- If two choices are similar in all aspects, except in one entity, one of them is probably correct.
- HOWEVER, the above format becomes null if the question is accompanied by a mitigating condition.
- Answers that include the following words are usually incorrect: always, as a rule, never, all, must.
- Answers that include the following words are often correct: seldom, generally, lean towards, probably, usually.
- Look for grammatical clues between question and the choices. E.g., the question and correct answer often will display nouns and verbs that agree with each other.
- Pay attention to familiar words or phrases that resonate from a lecture or textbook. Think about what you know about the underlying content and its association(s) to the current question.
- Often, we select choices that include unfamiliar words or phrases because we assume that they must be the right because “I don’t know this” or “it’s not looking familiar”.
- Be aware of choices that offer extremes of a numerical range; often, those choices may be deceptive.
Pause. Rethink. Are the extreme values plausible?
Use the above guidelines during practice sessions for each discipline. For majority of students, it takes, 5-8 days to reorganize. Over time, attentiveness to these guidelines will become more natural.
Rashmi Kumar, Ed.D.
Associate Director & Specialist in STEM Learning, Weingarten Learning Resources Center
