OSCE Exam QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE A+ GRADED
How do you test CN I (olfactory)?
Ask patient if they have noticed any recent changes to sense of smell
How do you test CNs III / IV / VII?
(Oculomotor/Trochlear/Abducens)
1. Inspect eyelids for ptosis (III) (1pt)
2. Assess eye movements and define the CN being tested SO4 LR6 AO3
III - directional gaze (all movements except those by IV and VI)
IV - Inferior-medial (down towards the nose)
VI - Lateral movement
How do you test CN II?
(optic)
1. Inspect the pupils
2. Assess visual acuity (verbalize use of vision chart at appropriate distance - not "arm's
length") (1)
3. Assess (and verbalize understanding) direct and consensual pupillary reflexes (2)
4. Perform swinging light test (1)
5. Assess accommodation reflex (1)
6. Assess for visual field deficits in four quadrants (For #6 --> Test each eye separately
with opposite eye closed or covered)
how far away should the snellen chart be?
20 feet
how far away should the Rosenbaum chart be?
1.5 feet
what is eye accommodation?
ciliary muscles contract and relax to change the shape of the lens
An increase or decrease in refraction through the lens changes the focal length to focus
near and far objects onto the retina.
How do you test CN V? (trigeminal)
1. Assess muscles of mastication (have patient clench jaw; palpate both temporal and
masseter mm)
2. Assess lateral (side-to-side) jaw movement
3. Assess facial sensation along 3 divisions (the forehead, cheek, lower jaw)
How do you test CN XI? (accessory)
1. Assess trapezius (shrug shoulders against resistance)
2. Assess SCMs (turn head against resistance and correctly identify which SCM is
being tested)
How do you test the right sternocleidomastoid muscle?
1. start by facing the patient and placing your right palm laterally on the patient's left
cheek.
2. Ask the patient to turn the head to the left, resisting the pressure you are exerting in
the opposite direction.
(do the opposite for left SCM)
How do you test CN I (olfactory)?
Ask patient if they have noticed any recent changes to sense of smell
How do you test CNs III / IV / VII?
(Oculomotor/Trochlear/Abducens)
1. Inspect eyelids for ptosis (III) (1pt)
2. Assess eye movements and define the CN being tested SO4 LR6 AO3
III - directional gaze (all movements except those by IV and VI)
IV - Inferior-medial (down towards the nose)
VI - Lateral movement
How do you test CN II?
(optic)
1. Inspect the pupils
2. Assess visual acuity (verbalize use of vision chart at appropriate distance - not "arm's
length") (1)
3. Assess (and verbalize understanding) direct and consensual pupillary reflexes (2)
4. Perform swinging light test (1)
5. Assess accommodation reflex (1)
6. Assess for visual field deficits in four quadrants (For #6 --> Test each eye separately
with opposite eye closed or covered)
how far away should the snellen chart be?
20 feet
how far away should the Rosenbaum chart be?
1.5 feet
what is eye accommodation?
ciliary muscles contract and relax to change the shape of the lens
An increase or decrease in refraction through the lens changes the focal length to focus
near and far objects onto the retina.
How do you test CN V? (trigeminal)
1. Assess muscles of mastication (have patient clench jaw; palpate both temporal and
masseter mm)
2. Assess lateral (side-to-side) jaw movement
3. Assess facial sensation along 3 divisions (the forehead, cheek, lower jaw)
How do you test CN XI? (accessory)
1. Assess trapezius (shrug shoulders against resistance)
2. Assess SCMs (turn head against resistance and correctly identify which SCM is
being tested)
How do you test the right sternocleidomastoid muscle?
1. start by facing the patient and placing your right palm laterally on the patient's left
cheek.
2. Ask the patient to turn the head to the left, resisting the pressure you are exerting in
the opposite direction.
(do the opposite for left SCM)
