NZREX Must Know List (1)

Below is a list of history taking cases that you need to study as you prepare for NZREX
This list was compiled to give an idea about some of the cases that may be included in the NZREX. People who passed the exam before me wrote the original list and I just added some more cases.

History Taking

1. Chest Pain (Cardiac related, Anxiety, GORD, Pleuritic chest pain)
2. Ankle Pain
3. Loss of consciousness
4. Depression
5. Chronic cough (Adult)
6. Hearing loss + vertigo + tinnitus
7. Headache (SAH, temporal arteritis, Migraine, SOL)
8. Weight loss + vomiting + amenorrhoea
9. 1st trimester abdominal pain
10. Recurrent cough in children
11. Blurring of vision + carotid bruit
12. Sore throat
13. Jaundice (adult and children)
14. Hypertension
15. Knee pain
16. Anaemia
17. High blood pressure in pregnancy
18. Disruptif behaviour in children
19. Suicide / self harm
20. Vaginal discharge + lower abdominal pain
21. Shortness of breath (CHF, Pneumothorax, PE, Asthma, Pneumonia, COPD)
22. Bloody diarrhoea + abdominal cramping
23. Post menopausal bleeding
24. Abdominal pain in left illic fossa
25. Hyperthyroidism
26. Pre-op assessment
27. Epigastric pain
28. Abdominal pain + vaginal bleeding in pregnancy
29. RUQ pain in the last trimester of pregnancy
30. Lightheadedness + one sided weakness
31. Amenorrhoea (primary and secondary)
32. Hip pain
33. Red urine in children
34. Delirium post-op
35. Rashes in children
36. Child with edema and proteinuria

How to use the list above?

• Check all the differential diagnosis of each case in John Murtagh's.
• Check the management plan including therapy, more investigation and follow up plan in RMO book.
• Plan your list of questions, before approaching the patient.
• Make sure you do not forget questions that can eliminate your differential diagnosis or lead you to your primary diagnosis
• Prepare at least three differential diagnosis for each case
• Know your management plan according to your diagnosis or differentials

I purposely wrote the cases in random manner, as I like to have a mix in my study each day to avoid boredom and bias. I found it better than when I study one system at the time, especially for the beginning of my study. 

There might be some other cases that I have missed, please add in the comment section below if you know of  any. All the  cases in the NZREX are often found in New Zealand hospitals or GP clinics. Also read my post for counselling stations.