A Medical Student Just Finished the USMLE Step 1 Exam

question 202

Multiple Choice

A medical student just finished the USMLE Step 1 exam and is anxious about her performance.  She is especially unnerved when fellow students talk about the difficulty of the exam and discuss their answers to certain questions.  The student decides not to think about the exam until her score arrives because "worrying isn't going to change the result."  She is delighted when she receives a very high score several weeks later.  Before receiving the result, the student exhibited which of the following defense mechanisms?

• A)Denial
• B)Dissociation
• C)Intellectualization
• D)Rationalization
• E)Reaction formation
• F)Repression
• G)Suppression

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Definitions:

Coaching Training Method

An approach to instruction where a more experienced person helps guide and develop specific skills of a less experienced person through one-on-one support and feedback.

Behaviour Modelling

The process of learning through observation and replication of others' actions, often used in training to demonstrate desired behaviors.

Mentoring

A professional relationship in which an experienced individual (mentor) offers guidance, knowledge, and support to a less experienced person (mentee).

Apprenticeship Programs

Formalized training schemes where individuals learn a trade or profession through on-the-job experience under the guidance of skilled workers.