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Section 3 - Planning Mangement
Introduction
In this section, you will be faced with a clinical scenario and required to choose the most appropriate medication for the situation. You'll need to consider the patient's clinical background to make the best treatment decision. The format is multiple-choice, offering five options—one of which provides a clear benefit, while the others may be neutral or potentially harmful.
| Question Style | MCQ |
|---|---|
| Total Questions | 8 (Each question has 2 sub-questions) |
| Marks per Question | 4 (Total of 32 marks) |
| Advised Time per Question | 2 minutes |
Example Question
Case Presentation
Case presentation
A 20-year-old man is admitted to the hospital with a 28 hour history of fatigue, anorexia and vomiting.
PMH: T1DM
DH: Humulin M3 FlexPen
O/E: Appears drowsy. BP 100/70. RR 30/min. O2 sats 95% on RA. Urinalysis shows ketones 2+, glucose 3+.
Question
Select the most appropriate management option at this stage.
(Mark it with a tick)
MANAGEMENT OPTIONS
Source: PSA
Tips for this section
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Know your first-line treatments for common conditions
The PSA exam assesses essential knowledge expected of a Foundation Year 1 Doctor. Understanding first-line management for common conditions is typically sufficient and acts as useful revision. In most cases, you won't need to refer to the BNF or Medicines Complete.
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Rarely, there will be some discriminatory questions demanding second- or third-line treatment options or caveats
Unfortunately, this is the nature of exams, and niche treatment questions may occasionally appear. Although less common, examiners might test more specific knowledge. You can improve your chances of answering these correctly by becoming familiar with the available treatment summary pages on the BNF / Medicines Complete.
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Be aware that some appropriate treatments may be non-pharmaceutical
A common assumption made when tackling this section is that all non-pharmaceutical options are incorrect. However, be careful as options such as physiotherapy may sometimes be the most appropriate answer.
Additional Tips:
- All the answers can be found on the BNF, under the relevant treatment summaries.
- Answer options can include the same drug with different doses/frequencies/preparations. The correct answer can be found on the drug nomogram page.
How to Approach This Section
- Read the question carefully and devise a top differential from the clinical picture.
- Scan through the answers to see if the standard first-line treatment for your top differential is included.
- If multiple appropriate answers exist, consider hints in the clinical background that might guide you to the correct answer.
Content Overview
The content for Section 3 overlaps heavily with Section 1 - Prescribing. Revising the key management guidelines for common medical conditions will help. Remember, you can access ‘Treatment Summary’ through BNF or Medicines Complete in the exam.