Build up to doing 14 stations in a row
The exam is 16 stations, 14 OSCE stations and 2 rest stations, it is a fatiguing affair. Like how you prepare yourself for any endurance event, its important to build your stamina to do that many stations in a row. Start off with something manageable 4-6 in a row with a colleague and look to increase it by two each time you do so that by the time you get to the exams you can handle it.
Procedure Stations
These are the easiest stations to pick up marks but also the easiest to throw away. Firstly, make sure that you cover the basics - e.g. If you are doing a urine dip, mention the colour, consistency and smell of the urine.
When you are practicing procedure station’s think of how a procedure would fit into a whole clinical scenario and treat it like an extension of a consultation or when you would use it in practice. E.g. Why am I doing a UTI? What can I do next with the results and how do I take the patient along the journey with me in the station?
If you are doing an ECG, why would you do an ECG? What are the common scenario’s in which you would do an ECG e.g. MI …. AF….. What do you do based on the results that you may get? How do you explain this to the patient?