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How to do a cerebellar exam

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In Making Synapses you practice it on the patient.

MD / DOPA
Practice it in VR with Blocky

The cerebellum controls coordination. Problems show on the same side as the lesion.

Step by step

  1. Gait

    Wide-based, unsteady, tandem walk. [1]

  2. Finger to nose

    Look for overshoot and tremor near the target. [1]

  3. Rapid alternating movements

    Flip the hand on the thigh quickly. [1]

  4. Heel to shin

    Heel down the other shin. [1]

  5. Speech and eyes

    Slurred speech, nystagmus. [1]

  6. Romberg

    Feet together, eyes open then closed. Falling only with eyes closed suggests a sensory problem. [1]

Common errors

Practice it in Making Synapses

In Making Synapses you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

Making Synapses cases that train this skill

Sources

  1. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)
  2. NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint
  3. Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam)

Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint; Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam). Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.