The OSCE Revision Guide for Medical Students

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It is actually much more reliable to look for fasciculations when the tongue is resting in the mouth, rather than when it is protruded.”

These blueprints show how the relevant standards of proficiency and associated skills and procedures may be tested in either the CBT, OSCE or both parts. Our OSCE revision guide has been crafted by the Geeky Medics team, experts in producing high-yield OSCE revision materials for medical and healthcare students. Always begin and end a station with washing your hands! Not only is it just good clinical practice, this gives you vital and easy marks. These booklets give an overview of the CBT and OSCE, what candidates should expect on the day and how they can prepare. Read the instructions carefully before you enter the station. It sounds silly, but people have been known to do the wrong examination in OSCEs (e.g. upper limb instead of lower limb neurological examination). If you don’t do what you’ve been asked, you just won’t get the marks.

The CBT and OSCE information booklets for all nursing fields apply to adult nursing, children’s nursing, learning disabilities nursing and mental health nursing pathways. Our comprehensive OSCE revision guide has over 50 clinical examination guides across 12 chapters, including:

Test specifications show how the test is designed, what it will assess and how, and how results will be produced and presented. The marking criteria available to trusts and candidates have also been updated as we are seeing higher numbers of candidates attempting to rote learn the marking criteria. This is problematic as they no longer approach the assessment with an open mind and in some cases find the assessment challenging when presented with new or different scenarios.The updated marking guidance are more holistic and will give trusts and candidates the key points that that all candidates will be assessed on. They should be used by candidates to confirm understanding of the different skills that they need to demonstrate across the OSCE but the standards, code, and blueprint should form the basis of all teaching and learning. Once you finish your examination you may have some spare time; don’t let this go to waste. Look around to see if there’s any equipment in the room you’ve not used. The online subscription contains all the information in the book in an online format plus additional online-only content:All candidates who sit their assessment prior to 26 June 2023 will not be presented with the updates covered above. All candidates who sit on or after 26 June will experience the changes we have made. Dress professionally and accordingly to NHS dress code. Looking neat might not give you extra marks, but it does help you make a good first impression. Remember to tie up long hair, roll sleeves up above the elbows and take off your wristwatch. It can be easy to just wipe all memories of a bad OSCE out of your brain. However, if you write those errors down you can review them for your next exam and ensure you don’t make the same mistakes again. Talking to your coursemates about their experience can help too – no one said that you can only learn from your own mistakes.

Grab a fellow medic/friend/flatmate and practice regularly until your examinations are fluent and confident. Exam nervousness can affect your performance, so it’s better to be a bit overprepared than under. If your medical school allows you to practice with their equipment, then take advantage of those opportunities. If not, things like reflex hammers, blood pressure cuffs and penlights can be bought off the internet for a decent price. Remember to practice with a timer too as the minutes fly by in the real thing. Established in 2020, 7 graduating medical students came together with the aim of offering free educational content that medical students can use to practice for their OSCEs. The test specification for all nursing fields apply to adult nursing, children’s nursing, learning disabilities nursing and mental health nursing pathways.Always be polite, empathetic and honest to your patient. Listen to them carefully and let them speak. Thank them and the examiner at the end of the station. After all, they’ve given up their free time to help you. A significant amount of marks are often awarded just for demonstrating these generic communication skills, so don’t neglect them! As part of the ongoing development of the Test of Competence OSCE for midwifery, we have made some changes to the existing assessments and released a small number of new stations which will come into use from Monday 26 June. These changes will ensure a wider coverage of the standards, code of practice and blueprint and forms part of our routine maintenance to keep the test valid and reliable. We're the independent regulator of more than 788,000 nurses, midwives and nursing associates. Our vision is safe, effective and kind nursing and midwifery practice for everyone. We aim to release free practical scenarios that medical students can use to practice towards their OSCEs. We appreciate that OSCEs are often the most stressful exams you will take at medical school. This books aims to empower your examination preparation and help you on your way to excelling in the OSCE. We believe that fresh graduates have a unique perspective on what works for students. We have captured the insight of medical students and recent graduates in the language that they used to make complex material more easily digestible as students, with the reassurance of content review by senior clinicians.