Have you been preparing for your OSCE exam? As you may already know, OSCE is a standardised clinical skills examination that tests your ability to perform vital aspects of the role of a registered nurse in the UK. The exam evaluates your ability to provide patients with safe, effective, evidence-based care.
Check out our blog here to get a basic understanding of OSCE. Now, let us share some tips to help you prepare for the next OSCE you face:
1. Make Sure You Know The Facts
OSCEs test your knowledge of the facts and ability to use them in clinical situations. Knowing what you need to know and then practising using it is essential. If there’s a topic on which you need more confidence, make sure that you revise it well and then practice applying it in as many different clinical scenarios as possible.
2. Practice Makes Perfect
The more times you can practice an OSCE station, the better prepared you will be for the real thing. You may feel like your first few attempts at an OSCE station were a bit messy – this is normal! However, the more times you do an OSCE station, the easier it becomes until it eventually feels like second nature. The key is to practice frequently so that on exam day, when it comes down to crunch time, your brain knows what actions need to happen next without requiring much thought or deliberation from yourself.
3. Your Weaknesses and Strengths
Your OSCEs will test various skills and knowledge, from visual acuity to how you interpret x-rays. You want to avoid getting stuck practising only the skills you feel most comfortable with. Before you begin to review and study, take a moment to identify your weaknesses in each OSCE topic and then target those until you reach a confident level of proficiency. You should start by reviewing the most accessible OSCE topics. Once you feel comfortable in those areas, move on to more challenging ones. If any topics seem unfamiliar or difficult for you, ask for help from your supervisor or another nurse who has already been through this process.
4. Seek Help From Non-Medic Patients
Find willing participants to practice interpreting and communicating procedures. However, choose your volunteers who are not in the medical profession. Your family members or friends can play the role of a ‘patient’ and offer you honest feedback on your overall manner and performance.
5. Get Your Basics Right
Although most of the exam will seem difficult, keep your attention on the details. Count on the basics, those minor but crucial clinical skills, to earn you high scores. Wash your hands before and after each skill, make a confident introduction, obtain consent, dress professionally, dispose of equipment correctly, and, most importantly, show compassion towards patients. These may all seem simple and trivial, but they are just as crucial in determining how you are perceived and graded at each exam station as the more complicated skills.
6. Stay Focused
It’s easy to become distracted and stressed about how you did at the previous station during an OSCE exam. Push the previous stations out of your mind and concentrate on the current assignment. You are more likely to skim directions and make mistakes when anxious. To ensure you understand what the examiner wants you to accomplish during the exam session, take a minute, breath, and read the station instructions at least twice or three times.
7. Confidence Makes All The Difference
Just before the exam, you’re bound to reflect on all the mistakes you’ve made while practising and how difficult it has been to learn specific skills. It’s tempting to belittle yourself. However, keep in mind that your examiner has never met you before. They didn’t see you prepare; all they can think about is how you could be the best candidate they’ve seen all day. Try to recall all of the positive responses you’ve received during the year and be as confident in your methods as possible.
8. Get Your Beauty Sleep
The best thing you can do the night before the exam is to get a good night’s sleep. When you’re feeling calm and refreshed, you’re more likely to be able to focus, perform well under pressure, and provide clear answers to inquiries. Cramming the night before or hastily going over the last-minute details will only make you feel anxious and probably confused.
Your OSCE demands a lot of hard work, effort and practice. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay stressed out. You can easily navigate the exams and other hurdles with the right recruitment partner. Have any queries regarding OSCE or nurse recruitment in the UK? Get in touch with the Denizns team, and we will guide you.