Shortness of breath building over months
AMC Clinical practice station
History taking · 2 min to read · 8 min to perform
Try a real conversation · AMC ClinicalAI practice
Take a focused history to work out the possible causes.
Graham HallettG'day doctor. I'm getting puffed out walking up the street. Probably just getting old. Can I get a puffer?
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Open the full station (charts, voice, result letter) →The task
You are a general practitioner. Mr Graham Hallett, aged 67, has booked an appointment because he is getting short of breath. He is alone. Take a focused history to work out the possible causes. Then explain to him what you think is likely, which tests you will arrange and what happens next, and answer his questions. There is no need to examine him. The examiner will not take part in the conversation.
What this station tests
- Always take a smoking, dust and asbestos history and estimate pack-years in a breathless older adult.
- Unintentional weight loss is a red flag that widens the differential beyond airway disease.
- Keep heart failure on the differential: ask about orthopnoea, ankle swelling and medicines that cause fluid retention.
- Confirm obstructive disease with spirometry before labelling it asthma or COPD, and do not let a puffer delay chest imaging.
- Name his fear of cancer and be honest about what is not yet known.
Sources for the clinical content
- healthdirect: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Lung Foundation Australia: COPD-X Plan
- Cancer Council Australia: Optimal care pathway for people with lung cancer
- Medical Board of Australia: Good medical practice, a code of conduct for doctors in Australia
An original practice scenario with invented patients. Not an exam question.