OSCE practice

Dry Stations

No patient, just the examiner and what is on the table: an X-ray, a set of results, a chart, a piece of equipment or a drug chart. Say your answer aloud, then reveal the model answer.

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27stations

5station types

108+examiner questions

5–10minutes per station

How to practise

1Read the stemDecide what you expect to see before you look.
2Describe aloudIn a fixed order: what it is, patient details, adequacy, then the findings, most important first.
3Answer each questionSay your answer aloud, as you would to the examiner.
4Reveal and compareOpen the model answer and the teaching point, and note what you missed.

Imaging

Real X-rays and CT scans from Radiopaedia open in a small window beside the page. Only the presentation is shown: the diagnosis is the test.

6 stations

01Erect abdominal X-rayA 30-year-old man presents with one day of abdominal pain.02Abdominal imagingAn 80-year-old woman with previous abdominal surgery has two days of absolute constipation and a distended, painful abdomen.03Abdominal X-ray and CTA 25-year-old man presents with constipation, abdominal distension and discomfort.04Abdominal X-ray and CTA 50-year-old woman has worsening abdominal pain, no bowel movement for a week, and nausea and vomiting.05CT abdomen and pelvisA 55-year-old man has two days of abdominal pain, distension and vomiting.06Chest X-rayA 15-year-old boy has a chest injury and severe breathlessness.

Blood results

Laboratory reports with reference ranges. Spot the abnormal values, name the pattern, then give the cause.

5 stations

01Blood resultsA 67-year-old man has three weeks of painless, progressive jaundice, with dark urine and pale stools.02Blood resultsA 55-year-old man has vomited large volumes of undigested food every day for three weeks and has lost weight.03Blood resultsA 74-year-old woman with atrial fibrillation has had severe central abdominal pain for six hours.04Blood resultsA 62-year-old woman with known gallstones has had severe epigastric pain radiating to the back for 12 hours, with vomiting.05Blood resultsA 71-year-old man is referred with tiredness and breathlessness on exertion.

Scores and charts

Glasgow Coma Scale, Alvarado, burns, fluid balance and NEWS2: calculate, interpret and act.

5 stations

01TraumaGlasgow Coma Scale 02Acute abdomenAlvarado score 03TraumaBurns: rule of nines 04Ward careFluid balance chart 05Ward careObservation chart

Instruments and equipment

The tubes, drains and needles you may be handed. Name it, say when it is used, how you check it and what can go wrong.

7 stations

01WardWhat is this?02TraumaWhat is this?03WardWhat is this?04TheatreWhat is this?05HepatobiliaryWhat is this?06ColorectalWhat is this?07TheatreWhat is this?

Prescribing

Patient details and a blank drug chart. Write the prescription, then compare it with the model chart.

4 stations

01FluidsMaintenance intravenous fluids 02ThromboprophylaxisVTE prophylaxis after cancer surgery 03AnalgesiaPost-operative analgesia 04AntibioticsAntibiotics for acute cholecystitis

All images are hosted on Radiopaedia.org and credited to their contributors on each station. Station pages are shared under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.