On the day
On the day of your OSCEs , remain as calm and relaxed as you possibly can . There will be a quick briefing before the exam begins so be sure to ask any questions you might have .
Before each station you have time to read the task . These tasks won ’ t be new to you as they are the ones you would have been revising for weeks prior to the exam and that have been signed off on your NPL or ePortfolio . Read them through thoroughly . The rest of the time before the buzzer goes off is yours – use it wisely and start to plan what you are going to do when you enter the station . Plan methodically so you know what you will do first . Don ’ t panic !
Once you have entered the station , remain calm and take it one step at a time . You have 6 minutes to complete each station which is a lot longer than you might think . The examiner is there for you to ask questions or to speak to – if they are not allowed to answer your question , they won ’ t . You are allowed to talk yourself through the task , which I did – you ’ ll be surprised how much this helps . If there is a layperson there to help you , use them – they are there for that reason . Just tell them what you want them to do or where you want them to hold the animal .
Remember to take a drink around with you to stay hydrated and prevent a headache halfway through the exam . You can even take a few sneaky sweets to keep your energy levels up .
‘ You are allowed to talk yourself through the task ... you ’ ll be surprised how much this helps ’
After the exam is over , don ’ t spend hours panicking about how you did ; you can ’ t change anything so why worry yourself over it ? One of the worst things you could do ( I did this ) is to go back through the scenarios and check you performed all the steps . It just makes your nerves worse for results day . Take the evening of the exam off and relax with friends or family .
My OSCE day
On the morning of my OSCEs , I travelled for 3 hours to get to CQ headquarters where I was taking the exam . I arrived 2 hours early as the traffic was nowhere near as bad as I expected . I then sat and did some last-minute revision before sunbathing in the car ( it was boiling ). It is best to plan your journey so you get there early ; heavy traffic is not a valid excuse for arriving late .
At the briefing , my nerves were starting to get the better of me . I was shaking and didn ’ t really know what to think . The first station I had was a drip-line set up . Should have been easy , right ? Just run the drip through the line in a sterile manner and then do the calculation . It did not go like that , thanks to my nerves . I was so shaky and panicky that my drip line had multiple air bubbles and I did the calculation wrong . I came out of the station and wanted to cry . I then realised that I couldn ’ t let my nerves take over this exam . So , I went into the second station and took my time , double checked everything I did and left that station slightly less shaky .
I then entered the third station : gowning and closed gloving . Everything went fine until I pulled the wrong tab on the sterile gown . As soon as I realised what I had done I asked if I could restart . The lovely examiner said ‘ yes ’, and quickly set up the station again for me . I had obviously wasted some of my 6 minutes , but I remained calm and , luckily , I managed to do it correctly the next time and still have a minute spare . So remember , you can restart at any point during each station , although you ’ ll only have the remaining time left to complete the task .
I think making a mistake on the third task gave me a huge confidence boost because the remaining nine tasks seemed to go much more smoothly . Before I knew it , I was on my final task – the new communication task . I had been worrying about this one for weeks but I just acted like the layperson was a client I speak to on a regular basis . Everything went fine .
After the exam , I went out for some food . Annoyingly , I had to travel home the same day , but I didn ’ t think about the exam at all . Results day came and I passed 11 of the 12 stations . I failed my first station due to nerves , so try not to let them get the better of you .
VOL 38 • July 2022
51