A four-week NMC OSCE study plan.

Four weeks, one APIE station or two skills stations a day, ending with a mock OSCE of 10 stations [S1] in the real order and timings. Week one finds your gaps, weeks two and three cover planning, handover, the written stations and medicines, and week four the procedures. It is our suggestion, not official advice.

Your next stations

Do a station or the free check and this space picks your next stations from your results, saved on this device only.

1. Week 1: Find your gaps, then the assessment station

   Do the free check once, with the timer, to see which kind of station is weakest.

   • Station 1: Assessment: new confusion, a fever and a urinary infection 20 min Free
   • Station 5: Assessment: a COPD flare-up on prescribed oxygen 20 min
   • Station 13: Constipation on a new painkiller, and blood on the paper 8 min
   • Station 20: Nutritional screening with MUST after weight loss 8 min
   • Station 21: Mouth care and an oral care plan after a stroke 8 min
   • Station 23: Pain assessment on the first day after a hip replacement 6 min
   • Station 26: Pressure area assessment with the Braden scale after a long lie 8 min

2. Week 2: Planning, handover and the written stations

   Handwrite every planning answer in black pen, as in the exam, and time it.

   • Station 2: Planning: two problems for Mrs Ellis, one with self-care 14 min
   • Station 4: Evaluation: SBAR handover to the night nurse 8 min
   • Station 6: Planning: breathing, and eating enough with COPD 14 min
   • Station 8: Evaluation: handing over a COPD discharge to the community team 8 min
   • Station 12: A pre-lunch capillary glucose that comes back low 8 min
   • Station 16: A positive fluid balance and a falling urine output after bowel surgery 14 min Free
   • Station 24: Peak expiratory flow at an asthma check 8 min
   • Station 30: Asked to do a procedure you are not trained for 10 min Free
   • Station 31: A bereaved family offers you cash and a gift 10 min
   • Station 32: Appraise a trial: out of bed within 24 hours after hip fracture surgery 10 min
   • Station 33: Appraise an interview study: families at the ward round 10 min

3. Week 3: Medicines

   Say every medicine check out loud, from identity to signature, with your hands moving.

   • Station 3: Implementation: the 18:00 medicines, one dose to query 15 min
   • Station 7: Implementation: steroid tablets and an allergy the chart missed 15 min
   • Station 9: A preventer inhaler through a spacer, and a patient who uses her reliever every day 12 min
   • Station 10: A glycerol suppository for an older man with constipation 10 min
   • Station 17: A vitamin B12 intramuscular injection in the practice nurse clinic 12 min
   • Station 18: A cannula flush that turns painful: scoring the site and acting on it 12 min
   • Station 22: Oxygen therapy: below target on nasal cannulae 10 min
   • Station 28: Mealtime insulin with an insulin pen 12 min

4. Week 4: Procedures, then a mock OSCE

   Finish with the mock OSCE below: ten stations in the real order and timings, back to back.

   • Station 11: Measuring and fitting anti-embolism stockings before a hip replacement 10 min
   • Station 14: A catheter specimen of urine for a new temperature and confusion 8 min
   • Station 15: Placing a fine-bore nasogastric tube after a stroke 12 min
   • Station 19: A midstream urine sample and urinalysis for burning and frequency 12 min
   • Station 25: Pre-operative check before a knee arthroscopy 12 min
   • Station 27: Removing a urethral catheter for a trial without catheter 8 min
   • Station 29: Wound assessment and an ANTT dressing for a red, oozing wound 21 min

Every day

• One APIE station or two skills stations a day, with the timer on, said out loud, standing up if you can.
• Tick the checklist honestly straight after, then read the model walkthrough.
• Next day, redo yesterday's station before starting a new one, and say the points you missed first.

The mock OSCE

The shape of the real thing: four linked APIE stations, four skills stations in two pairs, then the values and evidence stations [S1]. Run them back to back with each station's timer: 134 minutes of station time. The real OSCE also has 4 minutes between the pairings [S3].

1. Station 1: Assessment: new confusion, a fever and a urinary infectionAssessment, 20 min
2. Station 2: Planning: two problems for Mrs Ellis, one with self-carePlanning, 14 min
3. Station 3: Implementation: the 18:00 medicines, one dose to queryImplementation, 15 min
4. Station 4: Evaluation: SBAR handover to the night nurseEvaluation, 8 min
5. Station 17: A vitamin B12 intramuscular injection in the practice nurse clinicIntramuscular injection, 12 min
6. Station 28: Mealtime insulin with an insulin penSubcutaneous injection, 12 min
7. Station 29: Wound assessment and an ANTT dressing for a red, oozing woundWound assessment and ANTT, 21 min
8. Station 19: A midstream urine sample and urinalysis for burning and frequencyMSU and urinalysis, 12 min
9. Station 31: A bereaved family offers you cash and a giftProfessional values, 10 min
10. Station 32: Appraise a trial: out of bed within 24 hours after hip fracture surgeryEvidence-based practice, 10 min

See all the stations Open my report

Independent practice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the NMC, the test centres or any exam body. Original practice material, no real exam content. No guarantee of a pass. Our checklists are our own, not the NMC marking criteria. Written with AI from the official NMC materials, and checked word for word against them. Practice material, not advice for real patient care: follow your employer's policy and the NMC Code.