Vertigo/Dizziness

By the end of the Family Medicine Clerkship, the medical student will be able to:

1. Given a patient with “dizziness”, conduct a history so as to distinguish true vertigo from other types of dizziness.
2. Identify which medications are likely causes of vertigo and other types of dizziness.
3. Conduct a relevant physical exam so as to rule out serious causes of dizziness, including assessment of orthostatic blood pressure, cerebellar & cranial nerve function, precordium, and cardiac rhythm.
4. Identify patients with BPPV and be able to demonstrate the Epley maneuver for these patients.

Mandatory Clinical Encounter

• None

Resources*

• Dizziness clinical card, LearnFM
• Post, R et al. Dizziness: A Diagnostic Approach, Am Fam Physician 2010 Aug 15;82(4):361-8,369.

* Where a specific resource is not listed for a particular objective, please refer to recommended general texts/websites. Resources have often been selected from the Clinical Practice Guidelines and Protocols in British Columbia and Alberta’s Towards Optimized Practice Clinical Practice Guidelines. These are often concise summaries of national guidelines.