Can you correctly answer all the English questions on the Japan Medical Licensing Examination (JMLE)?
The English Questions on the JMLE
As I’m sure most of you probably already know, the English questions on the JMLE aren’t about basic grammar. They focus on medical stuff like terminology, patient communication, and clinical scenarios.
Here’s a question from the most recent JMLE held earlier this month:
Q 119B-35) A 25-year-old man presented with abdominal pain which started two days ago. Yesterday, the pain was periodic and located around the periumbilical area. Today, the pain is persistent and localized in the right lower abdomen. His body temperature is 37.7°C, pulse rate 90/min, blood pressure 120/62 mmHg, and respiratory rate 16/min. Physical examination shows rebound tenderness at the right lower abdomen.
Which of the following should be performed next?
a) Abdominal CT
b) Central venous (CV) catheterization
c) Gastrointestinal endoscopy
d) Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP)
e) Nasogastric tube insertion
If you answered e), it might be worth considering a career change to something unrelated to healthcare because the answer of course is a)!
Explanation
This guy’s appendix is acting up—first playing hide-and-seek in the periumbilical area, then settling in the right lower part of the belly. The rebound tenderness is basically his body’s way of saying, “Touch me again, I dare you!”
Since we don’t diagnose by vibes, an abdominal CT is the best way to confirm appendicitis and check if it’s just grumpy or ready to burst.
Why not the others?
- b) CV catheterization – He’s stable, no need for this.
- c) GI endoscopy – Not for appendicitis.
- d) MRCP – This one’s for bile ducts, not angry appendixes.
- e) Nasogastric tube – No obstruction, no need.
Takeaway
His appendix is on the way out, and a CT scan is the next step before we kick it to the curb.
Thanks to Takayuki Oshimi, anyone can test their skills anytime because he put together all the past questions in one place on Quizlet!
JMLE on Quizlet here!
Just a bit about some Quizlet quirks, it was originally made as a vocabulary learning site to help you power-up your word power. There are currently 5 options, but these are kind of a moving target that change regularly with updates. What you actually see depends on your account type (paid, student, teacher etc.).
Anyway, here’s what you might see if you click the link Quizlet right now.
As you can see in the image above, the “Games and activities” aren’t exactly ideal for MCQs. So, unless you enjoy stress and the urge to pull your hair out, it’s best to stick with the four “In-class review” options. But hey, to each their own—whatever floats your boat!
By the way, Quizlet is a useful system anyone can use to make your own study sets with your own vocabulary lists. Maybe there’s a Quizlet fan out there who would like to send us a blog post about Quizlet in the future. Better yet, if you aren’t a fan of Quizlet and want to tell the world about systems you think are way better (Quizizz? Anki? Memrise? etc), we’d love to hear your thoughts. Have ideas about anything else you’d like to share with JASMEE and the rest of the world, contact us anytime with your blog post ideas!
This post was written with the assistance of ChatGPT.