Aspiring nurses anticipate the most important exam of their career – the Objective Structured Clinical Examination day. The OSCE is intended to evaluate the capacity to use one’s professional knowledge and skills in nursing or midwifery in Australia. The month-long or even year-long preparation will be tested. Thus, aspiring nurses are expected to demonstrate sufficient knowledge they have gained over years of study and review.
But what actually happens on the day of the examination? What are the highlights every nursing aspirant should be expecting on OSCE day?
Before the OSCE
Before jumping to the expectation on the day of OSCE, it is important to remember a couple of reminders from the Candidate Handbook as of 2023. Candidates are urged to do the following.
- Be aware of where the OSCE will be held, how to get there, and parking details (note that applicants shouldn’t enter or make contact with the AHS building before the day of their test).
- Be aware of what a candidate should expect on test day.
- Read over every section of this candidate guide to ensure you are familiar with the requirements for the day, especially those pertaining to what to bring and what not to bring, as well as what to wear.
- Carefully read the material supplied on the OSCE’s framework and behavior expectations for applicants.
Along with these reminders, the handbook also emphasizes the examination day dress code. Candidates should NOT wear:
- Jeans
- tracksuit pants or tracksuit tops
- ripped or torn clothing;
- singlet tops or low-cut tops;
- long-sleeved tops (you must be bare from the elbow down)
- open toed or high heel shoes/ boots/ casual sneakers
- jewelry other than a plain wedding band
- fingernails should be cut short in length and be void of any kind of nail polish or powder
- long hair down – (your hair should be tied back in line with infection control requirements).
Finally, what should you expect on the OSCE day?
On the day of OSCE
The most awaited day has finally arrived. On this very day of OSCE, aspirants are expected to undergo these two major processes: identification and Covid response, and the exam itself.
- Identification and Covid-19 Safety
Your identification will be verified at the competency test center once you arrive, You must present authentic documentation proving your identity if the name on your passport differs from the name on your application or the email or letter authorizing you to take the exam, you must provide original evidence that you are the person named in that email/letter such as your marriage license or a statement confirming that you are the subject of both names, issued by the organization that provided your nursing certification.
You won’t be able to take the OSCE if you don’t have the required paperwork with you or if your passport is no longer valid. On the day, NMC employees will also be present to verify your NMC ID. All of the original documents that you uploaded as part of your application must be brought. On the Test of Competence invitation email from NMC confirming your eligibility to take the CBT and the OSCE, you will find a list of the required documentation. The NMC will set up another face-to-face consultation with you if you do not have all of your original documents on the scheduled day for whatever reason.
As of May 2022, Ahpra and the NMBA require all Ahpra employees, examiners, and candidates to adhere to the standards established by South Australia (SA) Health and Adelaide Health Simulation (AHS) in connection to COVID-19 in order to guarantee the safety of everyone participating in the administration of the OSCE.
People may only visit the AHS site if they can produce convincing proof that they have received a double dose of a COVID-19 vaccination that has been authorized by the Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA). This is in accordance with SA Health guidelines regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.
Closer to your scheduled OSCE date, candidates will need to give the IQNM Exam Team a copy of their COVID-19 vaccination certificate. At check-in on the day of the exam, candidates must also present their vaccination certificate.
- The OSCE
There are ten stations in the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, and each one is completed in a timely manner. There is only a 2-minute reading period and an 8-minute performance period. Even if you haven’t finished all the required segments for a station, you must go on to the next station when the timer for that station expires. The examination is carried out with the aid of actors who play fictitious patients, and some stations could use mannequins. There will be four scenario-based stations that correspond to the four stages of nursing care:
- Assessment
- Planning
- Implementation
- Evaluation
Each candidate will be tested on a series of practical skills, these may include but are not limited to:
- Physiological observations
- Vital signs
- Calculating drug dosages
- Subcutaneous/ Intramuscular injection
- Aseptic Non-Touch Technique (ANTT)
- In-hospital resuscitation (without defibrillation)
- Safe disposal of sharps
- Medication administration
- Wound care
- Hand hygiene
- Therapeutic patient communication/consent
- Infection control practices
- Patient identification
- Intravenous therapy administration/management
- Risk management in the clinical environment
Also, the RN OSCE Examiner will observe your interactions with a simulated patient (who may be an actor or a manikin) and evaluate your nursing documentation at each station in order to evaluate your whole spectrum of communication abilities (verbal, nonverbal, and written). The RN OSCE Examiner will evaluate your communication abilities, such as how you interact with the patient, during the assessment.
- Clearly explaining care, diagnosis, investigations, and/or treatments
- Involving the patient in decision-making
- Communicating with relatives and other healthcare professionals
- Seeking and obtaining informed consent
- Active listening
- Dealing appropriately with an anxious person or anxious relatives
- Providing clear instructions on discharge
- Demonstrating compassion and care during communication
- Clear documentation
Keep in mind that your performance will be evaluated in comparison to that of an entry-level registered nurse; Make sure you read the station instructions carefully within the two (2) minute reading period; Be ready to examine manikins, simulated patients, and part-task trainers, and be sure to treat them just like actual patients; Make sure you pay close attention to and follow all offered instructions; Instead than concentrating on finishing a single job, think about the entire circumstance as a whole.
It is important to enroll in a verified and trusted nursing review center in Australia to help you practice a simulation of what it is like doing OSCE. Then surely, you will ace the OSCE.
AuRNPathway is the Best Nursing Review Center for You
AuRNPathway is one of the top-rated nursing review centers that can help you ace your Objective Clinical Structured Examination in Australia. To date, it has the highest passing rate among other review centers in Australia. It also offers unlimited access to resources until you pass the OSCE. If flexibility is also your concern, the resources can be accessed ANYTIME, ANYWHERE with our online portal. Enroll in AuRNPathway and be one of Australia’s Registered Nurses. We can’t wait to see you here in Australia!
References
MWT Consultancy. 2020. OSCE Handbook by Ahpra for December 2020
NHS. 2023. The OSCE Process. Retrieved from
Nursing and Midwifery Board Ahpra. 2022. COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
