I vividly remember the day of my first OSCE! I was super stressed about the exam, partly due to my lack of sleep the night before and also because I felt unprepared. Looking back, there are a number of things I could have done differently, and so in this blog I’ll be sharing my top 5 OSCE revision tips to help you ace your OSCE as a pre-clinical student!

Link OSCE stations with relevant topics

This is something I have incorporated into my second year OSCE revision and I’ve seen a huge improvement in my confidence when practising clinical skills. Every time I learn about a new condition in my lectures, I complete an OSCE station relevant to that topic.

For example, if I’ve learnt about Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), then I’ll log onto the Queen's Medicine Portal and practise taking a GI history from a patient and performing an abdominal examination. This helps me consolidate what I’ve learnt and get used to thinking clinically, which is important when transitioning from pre-clinical to clinical medicine.

An example of linking a praecordium OSCE examination station with the relevant cardiac physiology

Record yourself

This may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! I like to film myself practising OSCE skills to identify weak areas in my communication. Remember, your communication is graded by both the examiner AND the patient. Therefore, try to be incredibly honest with yourself when watching your video. Are you communicating clearly? Are you explaining examinations simply and without medical jargon? The earlier you pick up on your weaker areas, the faster you’ll be able to improve!

Booking a library room to practise with friends is a great way to make OSCE preparation more fun!

Practise with friends

This is the easiest and most efficient way to practise for OSCEs. My friends and I like to book study rooms in the Biomedical Library and practise our clinical skills! We use the OSCEstop resources to help aid our revision. Some students like to split the cost of resources and also equipment.

Feedback documents are available on the QUB Medicine Portal to help you with your revision!

Empathy!

It’s easy to forget to be empathetic to patients in OSCEs. In real life, you’ll have longer than 5 minutes to consult with patients, but under the time pressures of an OSCE, sometimes empathy tends to take a back seat as students focus on simply completing the station. Remember, your patient is a real person. Think about any good doctor you’ve interacted with and why they are good, why do they stand out?

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If one station goes poorly, brush it off

Everyone makes mistakes in their OSCE, you’ll probably be laughing after your OSCE with friends, poking fun at the silly errors you made during the exam! If one station doesn’t go to plan, try not to let it affect the rest of your performance. The beauty of OSCEs is that there are numerous occasions to make up for one bad station!

Final note…

Remember, OSCEs are muscle memory exams. The more you practise, the better you’ll perform on the actual day. All the best!

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Also by Radhika: How to Deal With Burnout as a Medical Student

Radhika Gupta Medicine | Undergraduate Student | Derry, Northern Ireland Hi! My name is Radhika, I’m 19 years old and originally from Derry. I’m currently a second-year medical student and so far, I’ve been loving my course and time in Belfast! I like to spend weekends exploring the city with my friends and trying to find good places to eat/drink. My hobbies include photography, reading and yoga! This year I’m trying to become more involved in university activities, so you may see me around campus as I’m a student ambassador, plus I also love spending time in the Student Union with my friends in the evenings! I’m a member of various medical societies like SWOT and WOMED, and also recreational societies like Chess and Arts!