The medical requirements to obtain a permit vary by state, but are usually confined to specific types of disabilities or conditions. These as a general rule include the use of any assistive device such as a wheelchair, crutches, or cane, as well as a missing leg or foot. Some states also include certain cardiovascular, pain, or respiratory conditions. About half of US states (26) include blindness as a qualifying disability enabling the person to obtain a disability parking permit for use as a passenger, and 14 states include a disabled hand as a qualifying disability. Four states include deafness, and two states (Virginia and New York) include mental illness or developmental disabilities as qualifying disabilities

our guy uses a cane so...

btw i got it wrong :) cause i thought it is up to the DMV

The important thing for most of the ethics questions are to look for the answer where you are being the nicest/most professional while respecting the patient’s autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, etc. Most of the choices here were either accusatory or basically being mean to the patient. The correct choice is to help the patient but also motivate them to continue physical therapy and to only use the permit as little as necessary. A similar question (which I think was on NBME 23 -- they are kind of blending together) was the one where the patient had test results that indicated he had cancer but the resident said not to (voluntarily) tell him until the oncologist came in later that day, and the patient asked you about the results. You don’t want to the lie to the patient and say you don’t know or that he doesn’t have cancer, but you also don’t want to be insubordinate to the resident’s (reasonable) request.