EDITION 4 · Communication
Check your explanation
Choose your answer and name the finding that supports it before opening the explanation.
This week’s question
A patient correctly explains the purpose and frequency of a home exercise. When demonstrating it, they miss the key setup step, then perform it correctly with your cue. You want to establish whether they can use the revised instruction independently at home. Which check is most useful?
- Ask them to repeat the full written instructions using the original wording.
- Record independent understanding because the movement improved with your cue.
- Provide an additional diagram and check performance at the next appointment.
- Clarify the setup and invite another demonstration without the same prompting.
See the answer and reasoning
Best answer: D
Use a check that matches the skill you are teaching, and distinguish prompted from independent performance.
The deciding detail: The remaining gap is independent execution, not knowledge of purpose or frequency.
- Why this is not the best answer. Accurate recall is not the same as demonstrating the movement.
- Why this is not the best answer. The cued attempt shows supported performance rather than independence.
- Why this is not the best answer. A diagram may help, but the current execution gap still needs checking.
- Best answer. A further demonstration checks whether clarification resolved reliance on the cue.
STUDY TIP
Make the reasoning stick
Name exactly what your observation proves—and what it does not prove yet.
References
AHRQ — Use the Teach-Back Method: Tool 5. Checked 9 October 2026. Teach-back and show-me guidance; not an official CPTE scoring checklist.
Original, AI-assisted study material; no independent human clinical review. Sources support the principle, not official exam scoring or endorsement. Apply current local standards in practice.
Turn the reasoning into another practice session
Explain why the closest alternative is less suitable in this case. Then ask which changed fact might make it reasonable. A missed question identifies something to review; it does not predict your exam result.
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