Overview
Are you an internationally educated nurse looking to gain your Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registration and work in the UK? Our OSCE training program at Purple Med can help you achieve your goals!
Imagine yourself walking into the exam room feeling confident and prepared. That's what we want for you at Purple Med. Our 15-day intensive course is designed to help you prepare for the OSCE exam and feel ready to succeed. We have a team of experienced OSCE tutors who have helped nurses from all over the world succeed in their exams. Some of them have even taken and passed the OSCE themselves, so they know what it's like and can give you helpful tips and advice. We also have the most up-to-date training materials, resources, and equipment to help you practice and improve your skills.
Our main goal at Purple Med is to help you pass your OSCE the first time, saving you the time and money of having to re-sit the exam. We'll do everything we can to support you along the way, and our course is comprehensive but easy to follow. We'll make sure you understand all the requirements and feel well-prepared. Don't let the OSCE exam stand in the way of working as a nurse in the UK. Choose Purple Med for the best OSCE training and support available. Contact us today to learn more and get started on the path to success!
Workstations
Meet Your Lead Instructor
Has over 20 years of experience working in the NHS Currently serves as Divisional Lead for Practice Development and Education at a major NHS Foundation Trust. Responsible for overseeing the professional development and education of all non-medical staff within his division.
Why Us?
PRACTICAL
BASED LEARNING
We'll give you lots of materials to use before you come to our training sessions, both online and in person. This includes videos, slideshows, and forms to help you practice. You'll also get to try some mock exams to get a feel for what it's really like, and you'll get feedback from our teachers to help you improve. Plus, we'll give you a study guide to help you learn on your own.
ONLINE
LEARNING PLATFORM
Even after our training sessions are over, you'll still have access to all our resources and guidelines through our online learning platform. This way, you can keep learning and practicing until you take your exam.
PRE-OSCE
EXAM SUPPORT
We don't just stop once the training is over. We'll give you support before your exam with a mentor, our online learning platform, and a study guide with a suggested timeline. We'll also have competence tests and resit preparation to make sure you're ready to do your best on exam day.
Learner Feedback
Lalaine was extremey patient as she took time to go through all most all practical procedures
with us and allowed us to take turn and demonstrate while she watched and gave feedback, it was really helpful.
Thank you Lalaine for you expertise.
---
Anonymous Learner
Session with Joey went well. It brought out my short-comings and has assisted me to highlight what aspects I need to catch up.
He was very patient with us and as always his level of experience and it's excellence was there for all to see, really great.
---
Anonymous Learner
Session with Joey was a blast. He refreshed and recapped so well and a great actor too. I also enjoyed the stimulating game.
Thank you so uch Joey.
---
Anonymous Learner
Session with Lalaine was so smooth and encouraging. She answered our questions skillfully and lovingly.
The setup stations she made for us to practice while she supervised were really helpful.
Thank you so much, Lalaine, for all your kind encouragement and support.
---
Anonymous Learner
Another wonderful session with Marvz. It was blast!
We have opportunity to practice over and over under here supervision.
Thank you so much Marvz, it was a pleasure.
---
Anonymous Learner
FAQ
OSCE stands for Objective Standard Clinical Examination, which is designed to test you on your UK pre-registration practical nursing standards. The OSCE comprises ten stations, lasting around 2.5 hours in total. Each station varies between 10 to 17 minutes. Four stations will be clinical-scenario-based which will relate to the four stages of the nursing and midwifery care process:
(1) Assessment-holistic patient-centered care,
(2) Planning,
(3) Implementation, and
(4) Evaluation.
The other four stations will take the form of two sets of two linked stations, testing clinical skills. Each pairing of skills stations will last for up to 20 minutes in total, with a 4 minute interval. The last two stations are written. One station will specifically assess professional issues associated with accountability and the other will specifically assess critical appraisal of research evidence and associated decision-making processes.
Once you’ve arrived in the UK your employer should enroll you on an OSCE preparation course and , you must sit your first OSCE exam within 12 weeks. You have up to 8 months and 3 attempts to pass your OSCE.
The full cost of the OSCE exam is £794, reduced from £992 in April 2019. The resit cost of the exam is £397 from £496. Tip – Before you book and pay for your exam, enquire to see if your NHS trust will fund your examination.
You must sit the OSCE exam in the UK and there are five approved test centres:
- Oxford Brookes University
- Ulster University
- Northampton University
- Northumbria University
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Each of the universities offer the OSCE in the different fields of nursing and midwifery
Typical skills which may be tested on their own or within a nursing/midwifery scenario include:
- Basic life support (adult, child and baby)
- Intramuscular injection
- Subcutaneous injection
- MDI= Metered Dose Inhaler
- Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF)
- MSU & Urinalysis
- Catheter Sample of Urine
- Removal of Urinary Catheter
- Safe disposal of sharps
- Medication administrations
- Peak flows
- Wound care Antt (15-minutes allocated for this skill)
- Fluid balance
- Hand hygiene
- Calculating drug dosages
- Vital signs
- Palpation (Midwifery)
- Auscultation of foetal heart (Midwifery)
- New born check (Midwifery)
Each of the universities offer the OSCE in the different fields of nursing and midwifery
Yes. Communication is at the heart of nursing and the OSCE exam will assess your full range of communication skills (verbal, non-verbal and written). You will receive marks for:
- Clearly explaining care, diagnosis, investigations and/or treatments
- Involving the patient in decision-making
- Communicating with relatives and healthcare professionals
- Seeking and obtaining informed consent
- Active listening
- Dealing appropriately with anxious, upset, worried patients and their family
- Giving clear instructions on discharge
- Giving advice on lifestyle, health promotion or risk factors
- Demonstrating compassion and care during communication
- Professional behaviour
- Adhering to the NMC’s guidelines
- Lack of communication – verbal, non-verbal and not listening to the patient
- Not reading the scenarios or instructions properly
- Touching the patient before conducting hand hygiene techniques
- Not checking for allergies
- Not ensuring patient safety
- Not gaining consent from the patient
- Not completing the station within the timeframe
Each station has a unique 20 criterion-based assessment sheet which will be matched to the scenario or skill being assessed. The criterion is mapped against the NMC’s standards for pre-registration education and the NMC Code. When it comes to your results, the NMC will email them to your personal email address within 5-days of your examination. You’ll either receive a pass, a partial fail (this requires a partial re-sit at 50% cost) or a full-fail (where you’ll be required to resit the full exam).
All OSCEs are recorded, and all OSCEs deemed a fail will always be reviewed by the panel of assessors on the day of the OSCE. Failed OSCEs are automatically remarked and checked as part of the quality-assurance process. The academic lead/centre manager and administration team will co-ordinate any appeals, complaints, reasonable adjustments and fitness-to-practise issues, and will refer such matters to the test panel for investigation and reporting to the NMC
The NMC will inform candidates of the result of the OSCE usually within 5 working days after the test is taken. In some instances, this may take up to 10 working days if new OSCE content is being introduced. The NMC test of competence Part 2 is made up of ten stations, split into:
- Four scenario stations (assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation)
- two sets of two linked skills stations
- Two written stations, one assessing professional values and one assessing evidence based practice.
If you are unsuccessful in up to seven stations, your re-sit will be charged at 50% cost: £397. If you are unsuccessful in eight or more stations, your re-sit will be charged at 100% cost: £794.
| Result | Description | Outcome | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| PASS | Passed all stations taken | Congratulations! The NMC will be in touch to issue your NMC PIN. | N/A |
| Fail 1–7 stations | Failed up to seven stations across both the APIE and/or skill stations | Will require a re-sit at 50% cost. You will need to re-sit only the stations you failed. If you need to re-sit the APIE station(s), you will be given your original paperwork from the APIE stations you passed in your previous attempt, to complete the re-sit stations in sequence. | £397 |
| Fail 8–10 stations | Failed eight or more stations across both the APIE and skill stations | Will require a re-sit at 100% cost. You will need to re-sit the APIE station(s) you failed and the skill station(s) you failed. You will be given the same scenario and your original paperwork from the APIE stations you passed in your previous attempt, to complete the re-sit stations in sequence. | £794 |
| Full fail | Fail any station on the third attempt | Will require 6 months to elapse before you can reapply to the NMC. | N/A |
Your OSCE result will be uploaded to your NMC application and you will be able to continue your application for registration providing you have passed the CBT, paid your registration fee of £153 and the NMC have received your supporting declarations
Candidates have three opportunities to attempt each part of the test of competence. In exceptional cases, a further attempt at each part may be offered. This attempt will be agreed only by application to the NMC. The additional attempt will be granted in situations such as the following:
- The test centre did not follow agreed processes.
- The assessor behaved in a way that demonstrably did not comply with the agreed processes.
- There was an unanticipated interruption to the assessment, such as a fire alarm.
- Illness or severe anxiety in the candidate.
Candidates must wait at least 10 days between each sitting. Candidates can choose to take longer than 4 weeks between the second and final attempts. The OSCE will be passed or failed for each individual station. Re-sits will be required only for those stations the candidate failed. Re-sit candidates will take the same or a similar but different station(s) to the one(s) they failed. If the stations are not all passed in three sittings, then the whole OSCE must be re-taken.