We have a growing collection of 20+ patient study cases to assist with your clinical assessment preparation.
The cases can be used for both private study and peer-to-peer role play and mock exams. Each case is 5-6 pages in length, and provides:
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Learning prompts are included progressively throughout the case that replicate expected clinical reasoning (Levett-Jones et al 2010), and the APC performance indicators (that you are marked against in the exam). Example prompts include:
Study cases can be completed individually and then discussed with a peer or supervisor.
Cost: $30 per case OR $75 for any 3 cases (15% saving). Use the discount code 3FOR75 in the checkout.
If we don't have a case in an area of interest to you, please submit an idea in the text box below!
- Development of initial hypotheses
- Further information required
- Physical examination plan and refinement/prioritisation
- Goal setting
- Prioritised problem lists
- Relevant contextual and safety factors
- Treatment plan, dosage, rationale and re-assessment
- Discharge planning
Study cases can be completed individually and then discussed with a peer or supervisor.
Cost: $30 per case OR $75 for any 3 cases (15% saving). Use the discount code 3FOR75 in the checkout.
If we don't have a case in an area of interest to you, please submit an idea in the text box below!
Neurological Study Scenarios
Stroke ( Acute) Patient Study Case
Stroke ( Acute) Patient Study CaseCase Summary: Mrs Rosie Chin, a 82-year-old woman, was admitted last night to hospital following an haemorragic stroke. First stroke, although has a past history of high blood pressure, long-term smoker and type II diabetes. In ED, an MRI confirmed a hemorrhagic stroke, with rupture of the left middle cerebral artery. The patient was taken to surgery immediately for clipping of the artery. They were transferred to ICU post-op and ventilated for 3 days. Transfer to the ward occurred after another 2 days. Today is day 10 since admission.
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Stroke (Rehabilitation) Patient Study Case
Stroke (Rehabilitation) Patient Study CaseCase Summary: Mohammad Irani, a 69-year-old man was transferred from acute to inpatient rehabilitation hospital yesterday following an ischaemic stroke seven days ago. In ED, an MRI scan confirmed the stroke was not haemorrhagic. A CT scan on day 5 demonstrated hypodensity in the left parietal lobe. Cerebral angiogram confirmed right middle cerebral artery occlusion. Since admission, the patient has been stable with although newly diagnosed type II diabetes. The patient was seen by physio prior during the acute admission and commenced using a 2-wheel frame. They have residual deficits related to right upper limb and lower limb, with the lower limb more affected. They are also experiencing expressive dysphasia.
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Spinal Cord Injury Patient Study Case
Spinal Cord Injury Patient Study CaseCase Summary: Kelly Menarche, a 19-year-old woman, was transferred to inpatient rehabilitation from the acute hospital yesterday, after an eight-week inpatient admission following a motor bike accident. The patient was driving in the rain on dusk, rounded a corner and lost control of the bike. The patient sustained a L3 fracture with spinal cord damage, upper body lacerations, fractured ribs, and a radial fracture at the right wrist (managed with a plate and screws).
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Parkinson's Disease Patient Study Case
Parkinson's Disease Patient Study CaseCase Summary: Mr Anthony Green, a 73-year-old man, has presented to your outpatient clinical with reported balance issues that manifest in occasional falls. He has been referred to by his neurologist. The patient has a past history of Parkinson’s disease, which was diagnosed 3 years ago. They have been having frequent falls.
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Musculoskeletal Study Cases
Achilles Tendon Repair Patient Study Case
Achilles Tendon RepairCase Summary: Andre Santos is a 52-year-old man who ruptured his right Achilles tendon 2 months ago while playing indoor soccer. He underwent surgical repair of the tendon 6 weeks ago. Yesterday he saw his surgeon who advised he can start to weight-bear as tolerated using his CAM boot. He is presenting today for his 6-week post-op review appointment with physiotherapy outpatients.
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Ankle Injury Patient Study Case
Ankle InjuryCase Summary: Tina Nguyen is a 21-year-old university student who injured her right ankle while playing netball last week. She is frustrated this has happened because it’s the 3rd time this year she has injured her ankle playing sport. She is presenting today to the physiotherapy private practice for an initial assessment appointment.
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Wrist Fracture Patient Study Case
Wrist FractureCase Summary: Stuart Potter is a 82-year-old retiree who fell at home last week as he was getting out of the shower. He was taken to the Emergency Department via Ambulance and after an orthopaedic consult was diagnosed with a wrist fracture. A GAMP procedure occurred the following day. He was transferred to the rehabilitation ward 1 week after the surgery, and is now awaiting review by the rehabilitation ward physiotherapist.
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Shoulder Pain Patient Study Case
Shoulder PainCase Summary: Anita Spiteri is a 44 year old woman who started feeling pain in her right shoulder about 4 weeks ago. It has progressively worsened across this time. She does not remember doing anything to injure her shoulder. She went to her GP 4 days ago, who referred her for an MRI scan and to see a physiotherapist. She is presenting today to physiotherapy outpatients for a review appointment.
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Lower Back Pain
Lower Back Pain Patient Study CaseCase Summary: Vanessa Hayes is a 41 year old woman who has had back pain for many years. She usually manages it well, but it does stop her doing some of the things in her life that she used to enjoy. However, she recently experienced a flare up that was different to all others that she has had. She was taken to the emergency department, and required a stint in the inpatient rehabilitation ward. She is presenting today to physiotherapy outpatients for a review appointment.
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Knee Surgery Patient Study Case
Knee SurgeryCase Summary: Prue Wilson is a 45 year old woman who sustained a significant knee injury after tripping down a curb. Prue has had on and off left knee pain for many years, but this was much worse. After 3 months of waiting, Prue finally had keyhole knee surgery 5 weeks ago. Unfortunately she developed a DVT while an inpatient, and required a total of 2 weeks in hospital. She is presenting today to physiotherapy outpatients for a review appointment.
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HIP pain Patient Study Case
Hip PainCase Summary: Julie Grimes is a 62-year-old woman who has experienced hip pain for 2-3 months. It seemed to start after she retired from work a few months ago. She finally saw her GP about it last week who referred her for hip MRI and for physiotherapy. She is presenting today to the physiotherapy private practice for an initial assessment appointment.
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Hip Fracture Patient Study Case
Hip FractureCase Summary: Marie Button is a 81-year-old woman who was admitted to hospital 6 weeks ago after sustaining a fractured left neck of femur when she fell at home. She underwent surgery where the fracture was fixated later that day. After a 4 week stay in hospital, Marie was discharged home but required additional services. She is presenting today to physiotherapy outpatients for a review appointment.
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Cervical Spine and Headache Patient Study Case
Cervical Spine and HeadacheCase Summary: Jane Vasquez is a 32-year-old woman who has been having neck pain and headaches for several weeks. She spends her time working as a full time marketing executive for a major clothing brand, and writing novels. However, this week she had to take sick leave because she was unable to complete a full day’s work at her computer. Her supervisor suggested she see a physiotherapist for assessment in case her bad posture has caused an injury. She is presenting today to the physiotherapy private practice for an initial assessment appointment.
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Elbow Pain Patient Study Case
Elbow PainCase summary: Robert Knowles is a 42-year-old electrician who has experienced on and off lateral left elbow pain for the past 2-3 months. He doesn’t recall any incident or accident that triggered his pain. It recently became so bad he couldn’t complete a job for work, so he saw a GP who referred him for ultrasound and for physiotherapy. He is presenting today to the physiotherapy private practice for an initial assessment appointment.
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Lumbar Surgery Patient Study Case
Lumbar SurgeryCase Summary: Kevin Ruddell is a 47 year old man who injured his back while he was assisting his friend with home renovations. After trying physiotherapy and hydrotherapy for about 6 months without significant improvement, he underwent L4/5 spinal decompressive surgery 7 weeks ago. He was referred to physiotherapy outpatients by the physiotherapist he saw in the hospital. He had a review appointment with the neurosurgeon 3 days ago who praised him for his good progress. He is presenting today to physiotherapy outpatients for a review appointment.
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Calf Strain Patient Study Case
Calf StrainCase Summary: Amir Abbas is a 53 year old man who injured his leg while playing tennis last week. About a month ago he received some sobering news regarding his health from his GP, and thought it was about time he attempted to become more physically active. He saw his GP 3 days ago who referred him for a leg ultrasound and for physiotherapy. He is presenting today to physiotherapy outpatients for an initial assessment.
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total hip replacement patient study case
Total Hip ReplacementCase summary: Margaret Thompson is a 75 year old woman who has had right hip pain for many years. After a long wait she underwent a total hip replacement 3 weeks ago. After spending just under 2 weeks in hospital she was discharged home. She is presenting today to physiotherapy outpatients for a review appointment.
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ACL Reconstruction Patient Study Case
ACL ReconstructionCase summary: Jason Hughes is a 42 year old man who injured his left knee playing squash a few months ago. He sustained a complete rupture of his left ACL. He is extremely motivated to return to playing squash, and so he underwent ACL reconstruction surgery 3 weeks ago with the hope he can achieve this. He is presenting to physiotherapy outpatients for a review appointment. This is his first physiotherapy review since discharge from hospital.
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Knee pain patient study case
Knee PainCase summary: Peter Stathakopoulos is a 33 year old man who has recently developed left knee pain while trying to become fitter. In his teenage years he was a state-level cross country runner, but in recent weeks his knee pain has prevented him from going running. He is presenting today to the physiotherapy private practice for an initial assessment.
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shoulder surgery patient study case
Shoulder SurgeryCase summary: Rebecca Thatcher is a 39 year old woman who injured her left shoulder in a fall at work almost 9 months ago. She underwent surgery just over 6 months ago, which was initially helpful, but she has recently started experiencing significantly increased pain and disability related to her left shoulder. Her specialist and GP have advised that there are no new injuries in her shoulder that require surgery and she just needs to give it more time. They suggested she resume physiotherapy to try and help. She is presenting today to physiotherapy outpatients for a review appointment.
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Cardiorespiratory Study Scenarios
COPD (Acute) Patient Study Case
COPD (Acute)Case Summary: Mr Gerry Couch is a 74-year-old man who was admitted last night to hospital with an acute exacerbation of COPD. He has a three day history of increasing shortness of breath and generally feeling unwell. He was diagnosed with COPD three years ago when he noticed he was not able to walk as far as previous. Upon diagnosis he quit smoking and was commenced on an array of inhaled respiratory medications. His condition has been stable until approximately 4 months ago when he had his first hospital admission with an exacerbation. He is acutely unwell, with poor gaseous exchange observed on arterial blood gas sample, sputum that is difficult to expectorate and significant changes on chest ray. Physiotherapy has been requested to review Day 1 post admission.
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Cardiac Surgery Patient Study Case
Cardiac SurgeryCase Summary: Mrs Cynthia Yang, a 58year-old woman, was admitted yesterday for coronary artery by-pass surgery. Six weeks ago, the patient experienced crushing chest pain that radiated into their jaw and left arm and presented to the ED. The patient was diagnosed as myocardial infarction and discharged home five days later. After stabilising, and review by the cardiac surgeon four weeks ago, a decision for CABG surgery was made and the patient placed on a waiting list. The surgery was completed two days ago.
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Pneumonia COVID Patient Study Case
Pneumonia COVIDCase Summary: Joseph Goldmann, a 49-year-old man was admitted last night to hospital with increasing shortness of breath, a productive cough and fever. The patient reports a five-day history of feeling unwell. The symptoms commenced with aches & pains, headaches, a fever up to 39.5 degrees, coughing and a mild runny nose. The completed a COVID rapid antigen test which was positive. On day 6 the patient felt much better, but on day 8 since infection, the patient reported the development of SOB at rest, productive of yellow sputum, and ongoing fevers. COVID@home assessed the patient over the phone on day 10 and arranged for an ambulance to attend, where the patient was found with significant hypoxaemia and was transferred to hospital. Physio has been referred on day 1 of admission.
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Bronchiectasis Patient Study Case
BronchiectasisCase Summary: Chris Townsend, a 28year-old man has been referred to your outpatient respiratory department with a 12 month history of declining respiratory function, with unresolved sputum production. The patient initially was managed by their GP with oral antibiotics with 4 rounds of varied medications that were aligned with the sputum sample microbiology. On each occasion, the sputum decreased and became white for a period of two to three weeks, but then returned to previous amounts and colour. The patient was then referred to a Respiratory consultant where the diagnosis of bronchiectasis was made and the patient referred to physiotherapy for self-management strategies.
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COPD (Rehabilitation) Patient Study Case
COPD (Rehabilitation)Case Summary: Mr Gerry Couch is a 74-year-old man who was admitted to hospital with an acute exacerbation of COPD 12 days ago. The patient was stable for the first two days on the ward, but then continued to deteriorate, with arterial blood gases demonstrating worsening hypercapnia and respiratory acidosis. He was transferred to ICU as he became tachycardiac. In ICU they required non-invasive ventilation for a period of three days. Over the next 7 days they slowly improved, weaning oxygen therapy and reducing levels of oral prednisolone, but their functional capacity was considered insufficient for discharge home. He has been transferred to inpatient rehabilitation, and this is his first session with physiotherapy.
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Multi Trauma (Rib Fractures) Patient Study Case
Multi Trauma (Rib Fractures)Case Summary: Adeela Burki, a 19year-old women, was admitted yesterday following a sporting injury where she collided with goal posts while playing netball – she was shoved by a fellow player accidentally. The young woman has sustained a fracture to her right ankle and right ribs 4 through 6 (single compound fracture, no displacement of ribs) with associated contusions to the thoracic region. The ankle fracture has been managed with an open reduction and internal fixation surgery. The rib fractures are managed conservatively. Physio has been requested day 1 of admission.
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Pneumonectomy Patient study Case
PneumonectomyCase Summary: A 58-year-old, Martin Waters was admitted yesterday to hospital and underwent a right pneumonectomy via a right posterolateral thoracotomy for carcinoma of the lung. The surgeons removed the entire right lung, in an attempt to remove a large central cancer before it spreads, hoping to cure the cancer. The patient reports a one-month history of increasing shortness of breath and coughing up blood, which led to them seeing their GP. Chest X-rays and an MRI immediately showed the cancerous mass and a thoracic surgeon was consulted shortly after. Surgery was booked one week later.
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If we don't have a case in an area of interest to you, please let us know and submit an idea for a new Patient Case in the text box below.