I wonder if there is anyone out there who, like me, who has been slogging through the NMC application process and has taken or will take the OSCE? Are any of you ANGRY about the OSCE? I am.
Those of us applying to be registered in the UK have been put through the ringer, been vetted in every way imaginable (references, one year of practical experience required, education hours, training hours, IELTS, etc), and the fact that they add a practical test on top of that is just redundant, unnecessary, and a huge waste of time and resources for everyone. Especially amid the UK nursing shortage, when they should be facilitating the immigration of well-qualified nurses, not hindering us!
I recently took the OSCE and failed the skills section for absolutely bogus and arbitrary reasons. But before finding out that I had a "partial fail", I initially came out of that test feeling confident, like I had done well, and there is no way they would judge me to be an incompetent nurse. But despite my feeling that I performed well, I also emerged from the test simultaneously angry and frustrated, for having just committed 5 weeks of my life to stressing, floundering through disorganized, overabundant study materials on the Nile website, and traveling across the world... all for a test that clearly has nothing to do with assessing a nurse's competence. All the OSCE succeeds in testing is our willingness to jump through meaningless hoops and pay excessive fees!
The fact that we are subjected to this psychological roller coaster is infuriating... especially from an organization whose bedrock is the holistic caretaking of all people!
And why the exorbitant fees? Why do we have to repay the fee if we sit again for the test? Exactly whose pockets are we lining? The whole thing just rubs me the wrong way.
I'm just appalled at what I and others have been through with the OSCE. I plan to appeal my test result and also lodge a complaint both with the University of Northampton and the NMC, who are the controllers of the OSCE. If anyone is interested, I will share what I write, and I encourage ANYONE who is frustrated to write to the NMC and make yourself heard!!!
