From the Guidelines
Yes, I can answer multiple-choice medical questions.
Rationale
- The provided evidence 1 discusses the development of a questionnaire for managing spontaneous pneumothorax, which included multiple-choice questions among other formats.
- The study utilized a Delphi questionnaire that presented case-based scenarios with multiple management options, including multiple-choice questions, to gather expert opinions on key management practices.
- Although the evidence does not directly address the ability to answer multiple-choice medical questions, it implies that multiple-choice questions are a valid format for assessing knowledge and decision-making in medical contexts.
- The use of multiple-choice questions in medical education and assessment is a well-established practice, suggesting that answering such questions is a fundamental skill in medicine.
From the Research
Answering Multiple-Choice Medical Questions
- The ability to answer multiple-choice medical questions has been evaluated in various studies, with a focus on the performance of ChatGPT, a Chat Generated Pre-trained Transformer, in answering and providing explanations for MCQs 2.
- In one study, ChatGPT demonstrated a 75% accuracy in correctly answering faculty-generated MCQs on the first attempt, with 66.4% of its explanations matching faculty explanations and 89.1% capturing some key aspects without providing inaccurate information 2.
- The use of multiple-choice questions in medical education has been compared to very short answer questions (VSAQs), with VSAQs showing promise in promoting deeper learning and reducing cueing 3.
- Medical students have also been involved in creating multiple-choice questions for learning in pathology education, with a pilot study showing that students can create cognitively challenging MCQs, but may not see the task as having educational value 4.
- Best practices for writing high-quality multiple-choice questions have been highlighted, including strategies for writing good-quality multiple-choice items and common flaws that can impact validity and reliability of assessment examinations 5.
- The number of options for single-best answer multiple choice questions has been debated, with some arguing that reducing the number of options from five to three or four does not adversely affect the quality of the questions and tests, while others argue for a variable number of options to promote educational and clinical authenticity 6.