Preparing for the Psychiatry board exam will not be easy with more than 30 topics to study. These topics range from neurological disorders, genetic disorders, addictions and eating disorders to diagnosing and properly medicating. The mastery of areas will be the key to passing your exam.
Test your knowledge with these two free practice questions taken from BoardVitals Psychiatry Board Review Question Bank.
Question 1
Patients taking Selegiline may test urine positive for which drug?
A.) benzodiazepine
B.) methamphetamine
C.) marijuana
D.) cocaine
E.) opiate
Answer
B.) methamphetamine
Explanation
The correct answer is B. Selegiline is metabolized by the body into l-methamphetamine and l-amphetamine, and a package insert is meant to alert users that this is a likely side effect of being on this drug. If they test positive for the other drugs on the list, it is more likely a positive drug test. Selegiline is a substituted phenethylamine used for the treatment of early-stage Parkinson’s disease, depression and dementia. In normal clinical doses it is a selective irreversible MAO-B inhibitor. However, in larger doses it loses its specificity and also inhibits MAO-A.
Reference
Joska JA and Stein DJ. “Chapter 11: Mood Disorders” in The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry, 5th Ed. Hales RE, Yudofsky SC, Gabbard GO, editors. American Psychiatric Publishing, 2011
Question 2
A health care provider learns from a mutual acquaintance that a former patient who was treated for opioid addiction 5 years previously has completed medical school and entered a residency program. They last saw the patient 4 years ago, at which time the patient was compliant with treatment. Which of the following is true?
A.) Breach confidentiality and report the health care provider to the medical board
B.) Contact the health care provider assistance program in the former patient’s state and reveal the history of drug abuse
C.) Without evidence that the former patient is impaired, you should not breach confidentiality
D.) Contact the former patient and request evidence of compliance with treatment
E.) You have a legal duty to inform a responsible authority about the former patient’s potential impairment
Answer
C.) Without evidence that the former patient is impaired, you should not breach confidentiality
Explanation
Correct answer: (C) Without evidence that the former patient is impaired, you should not breach confidentiality. Explanation: Although impairment may result from the use of psychoactive agents or illness, the presence of a disorder does not necessarily imply impairment. Unless a health care provider seems to be impaired now, there is no legal or ethical duty to report the health care provider based on history. Unless there is evidence of current impairment or patient danger, a patient who is happens to be a health care provider has the same rights to confidentiality under the provider-patient relationship. When a health care provider identifies an impaired health care provider, there is a clear ethical duty to protect the patients of the impaired health care provider by reporting to an appropriate authority, although the legal responsibility to report an impaired health care provider varies among from state to state.
Reference
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Good luck with your upcoming Psychiatry exam!
