Clinical OSCE resources
Let's talk OSCEs...
Today's post is all about useful clinical OSCE resources. Whilst I have a 'resources' page on my blog where you can find a list of (nearly) all the books and online resources I have used throughout medical school, this post covers, in more detail, the resources I use for preparing for my clinical OSCEs. I hope you find some (if not all) of these resources helpful during your preparation for OSCEs!
Disclaimer: As mentioned above, these resources are for clinical OSCEs. I have personally used these books and online resources when preparing for my OSCEs. Whilst I have found them to be useful, you may find that something else works better for you.
OSCEs for PLAB and Medical Students (x)
This book contains practise scenarios for OSCE stations such as history taking, giving information, obtaining consent etc. For each scenario, there is a brief outline of the scenario for the student/Dr (similar to instructions which would be found outside an OSCE station), information for the 'patient', an examiner mark sheet and notes at the end which include things such as differentials, management plan, top tips etc. One of the best things you can do in preparation for clinical OSCEs is practise communication stations and this book contains the perfect scenarios to do so.
The OSCE Revision Guide For Medical Students (x)
This book contains a vast amount of OCSE preparation material. It doesn't just focus on history taking and examinations but also includes things such as clinical procedures, data interpretation, management of major emergencies etc. I could go on forever about just how useful this book is but if you want to find out for yourself, OSCEstop (the organisation behind this book) has a website where you can access a lot of the content from the book for free. So if you want to look at some of the content before purchasing it, you can find it at OSCEstop.com.
OSCE Cases with Mark Schemes: A Revision Aid for Medical Finals (x)
This book contains more history taking scenarios for possibly every single speciality you can think of. It also contains scenarios for breaking bad news, medication counselling, providing information about procedures etc. It's great to use during group revision sessions. When preparing for OSCEs, practise makes perfect and this book really does help you excel in those communication stations.
Focused History Taking for OSCEs (x)
I have found this book to be extremely useful for clinical placements as well as exam preparation. There are history taking templates for possibly every single symptom you may come across. I look over the relevant templates in this book when I am due to start a new rotation and use it in the run up to OSCEs to make sure I'm asking all the right questions for the presenting complaint.
This website is great for all things OSCE! There are guides for pretty much everything you can think of including history taking and examinations, interpretation of lab and radiology results, different procedures, ECG interpretation etc. The list is endless! I also find their youtube channel extremely helpful when I'm learning a new physical examination. The demonstrations help me understand exactly what I should be doing and always act as a quick reminder when I haven't performed a particular examination in a while (especially before OSCEs).
This is a website I came across early on when I was trying to find history taking scenarios to practise. Although it doesn't have scenarios for every single topic, the ones it does have are good to practise with.
0 comments