As part of our ongoing review and maintenance of the test, the following documents have been updated. Pease note the changes made are minor and should not impact on the preparation that candidates complete ahead of sitting their test. Candidates should continue to read the full exam instructions, and apply their skills and knowledge to the station or scenario that they are presented with.

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. Don’t worry about making mistakes during the OSCE – you haven’t got time to panic. Stay calm, take a deep breath and continue as you were.

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The test specification for all nursing fields apply to adult nursing, children’s nursing, learning disabilities nursing and mental health nursing pathways. 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.

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. 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! 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.

Test specifications

Our comprehensive OSCE revision guide has over 50 clinical examination guides across 12 chapters, including: You may not be feeling very confident during your OSCE, but pretend you are! Stand up straight, smile when appropriate and speak loudly and clearly – being too apprehensive can give the impression you don’t really know what you’re doing and make the patient nervous too. 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. OSCEs or Objective Structured Clinical Exams are the ‘practical’ exam of medical school. It aims to prepare you for the clinical and communication aspects of becoming a doctor. They can seem really difficult and stressful, but with enough practice, you are likely to score well. I hope these tips are helpful and make you feel a little less worried! 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.