skip to main content

Somatic symptom disorder — USMLE Step 2 CK MCQ

Instant feedback + full explanation. One question, done properly.

HardPsychiatrySomatic symptom disorderUSMLE Step 2 CK

A 38-year-old has 4 years of distressing pain, fatigue, and gastrointestinal symptoms with repeated unrevealing evaluations. She spends hours monitoring symptoms and frequently visits urgent care. Today there are no new objective findings or red flags. Which longitudinal strategy is most appropriate?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

Reveal the answer and explanation

Correct answer: E — Consolidate care with one clinician, schedule visits, validate symptoms, and target function

Explanation lettering: B = shown as A · D = shown as B · E = shown as D · A = shown as E

A is correct: somatic symptom disorder is managed with a consistent therapeutic relationship, scheduled rather than crisis-driven visits, validation, and function-focused goals while new objective abnormalities are still assessed. B reinforces illness behavior and exposes the patient to low-yield testing. C confuses the disorder with malingering. D risks dependence without addressing the care pattern. E abandons appropriate medical continuity.

Reference: American Academy of Family Physicians: somatic symptom disorder. https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2016/0101/p49.html