Are you angry about the NMC OSCE???

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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!!!

Yes she is in a nursing home in Beverly in Yorkshire now and they are lovely to her. She will sit her third OSCE exam very soon.

From the care planning book I have read it says you must be specific in your care plans. That to me means that I will say how often I am observing my patient and how soon between observations too. Did you do this? If you did this you should be fine.

Hi, I am about to take OSCE and preparing for it. I started to review a bit bec I have heard that it is quite difficult. About care planning, are you also making nursing diagnosis? I use NANDA, is that fine as my resources?

Thank you.

Well God in his good grace did not see fit for me to pass my first OSCE. I was nervous, despite the nice ladies at the exam centre, I forgot to do something really essential. I pray nerves do not get the better of me next time. I am waiting three months before my next attempt at the exam.

Good luck on your next sit!

Specializes in Practice educator.

I'm an OSCE trainer in our trust, I have a year of experience now of getting nurses through this process and everyone should be angry at the OSCE process. The failure rate is ridiculous, sometimes 65% a month. We do have a comparatively good pass rate, of all our staff who have managed to sit all of their entitled exams we have around about 90% pass rate EVENTUALLY.

The sad thing is we as practitioners have to spend often hundreds of hours with our OSCE hopefuls just to sit an arbitrary exam that does not have ANY bearing on a nurses ability to practice. Imagine if we had put all that time and effort in to supporting staff in practice? The NMC are robbing trusts and you guys blind with these exams, we have joined with 3 trusts to find out recent pass rates because all of us have seen our pass rates slide from the 70s in to the 40%s. Funny how they get to open yet another OSCE centre while we're sending fantastic nurses home because they didn't initial their notes properly.

We're all angry, and we're all with you, just because you fail it does not make you a bad nurse, there isn't a single nurse today who could come out of their ward, sit an OSCE and pass. SO WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

It does really seem that the NMC is completely out of touch with actual professional practice as occurs in the real world, in real hospital settings. Yes, there are the ideals they would like, but set against an NHS that is collapsing under the weight of healthcare needs and expectation, it is impossible to comprehend some of the ludicrous reasons that have been presented for failing OSCE candidates. The OSCE does not seem to be designed in any way to really facilitate the integration of nurses into our healthcare system. Instead, much of what trips candidates up are relatively minor issues that can simply be highlighted with an OSCE report. Potential employers can then make an informed assessment for themselves when recruiting.

I am an Australian who studied nursing because I wanted a career where I could move around the world with it. It has always been my dream and intentions to move to the UK to work as a nurse. Unfortunately I feel so down about how difficult the process is. I have just completed my first year out of university as a theatre nurse and have begun looking into how to get my UK registration. I am a scrub nurse and only want to be a scrub nurse when I go to the UK, I find it so worrying for me that the OSCE is based on adult general skills where I have not done any of those for some time. A scrub nurse has a completely different skill set in which you don't do assessments, care plans, and most clinical skills. I am just wondering what to best way to go about getting my registration would be? Would it be advisable to try and find nursing training facilities and re-learn lots of the key skills required? I am just so nervous about the OSCE because I don't feel I have enough knowledge or practice to pass even if I did try and study up.

Would be great to have some insight!

Thanks

Specializes in Practice educator.

Keep in mind that our UK nurses get put on the register with a 40% pass rate in their OSCEs, which means they can make errors for 60% of their exam and still pass while the OSCE guys fail from one mistake, there is no equality with the NMC.

They do not allow us to tell people why they have failed, its very hush hush and secretive for some bizarre reason, and the feedback is not even one line most of the time and so vague that you have to apply for more information. I read on here someone failed as 'care plans not specific', well neither is your feedback! Think SMART...

Last 3 months the NMC made nearly a £1,000,000 in 3 months just from first sittings alone, a further 250-500k from 2nd-4th sittings. All the while us trusts are spending £10,000 per applicant just to get to their first OSCE and that doesn't include the costs involved with paying our OSCE team, keeping bays allocated for OSCE training purpose and paying staff a band 4 for weeks at a time while they attend training.

Its a farce, however there could be some light, I recently learnt they are ' commencing a full review of their overseas registration process including OSCEs' what this means is obviously kept secret by the NMC who seem to enjoy being as unforthcoming as they can possibly be but who knows, maybe we'll see people not failing and being sent home because they didn't adequately strikethrough a mistake on their care plan.

Specializes in Practice educator.
I am an Australian who studied nursing because I wanted a career where I could move around the world with it. It has always been my dream and intentions to move to the UK to work as a nurse. Unfortunately I feel so down about how difficult the process is. I have just completed my first year out of university as a theatre nurse and have begun looking into how to get my UK registration. I am a scrub nurse and only want to be a scrub nurse when I go to the UK, I find it so worrying for me that the OSCE is based on adult general skills where I have not done any of those for some time. A scrub nurse has a completely different skill set in which you don't do assessments, care plans, and most clinical skills. I am just wondering what to best way to go about getting my registration would be? Would it be advisable to try and find nursing training facilities and re-learn lots of the key skills required? I am just so nervous about the OSCE because I don't feel I have enough knowledge or practice to pass even if I did try and study up.

Would be great to have some insight!

Thanks

We have worked alongside our theater staff who have attended our OSCE training and now have their own ways of implementing the 'OSCE' style (Obnoxiously specific costly exam). We' have had success so far with our staff but the numbers are too small to say whether its just luck or our extra effort in working with theaters.

If it seems like I don't enjoy my job as an OSCE trainer I do, its the fact I enjoy working alongside our overseas nurses so much that I get passionate about how awful the process is.

I am an Australian who studied nursing because I wanted a career where I could move around the world with it. It has always been my dream and intentions to move to the UK to work as a nurse.

Unfortunately I feel so down about how difficult the process is. I have just completed my first year out of university as a theatre nurse and have begun looking into how to get my UK registration. I am a scrub nurse and only want to be a scrub nurse when I go to the UK, I find it so worrying for me that the OSCE is based on adult general skills where I have not done any of those for some time. A scrub nurse has a completely different skill set in which you don't do assessments, care plans, and most clinical skills. I am just wondering what to best way to go about getting my registration would be? Would it be advisable to try and find nursing training facilities and re-learn lots of the key skills required? I am just so nervous about the OSCE because I don't feel I have enough knowledge or practice to pass even if I did try and study up.

Would be great to have some insight!

Thanks

Hello. We are on the same boat. I am a Filipino working in Ophthalmic Department both OPD and Theater for about 7 years. I almost forgot all the basics of nursing esp. the skills needed to work for ex in ward. I am also anxious about the OSCE but I want to give it a try. Right now, I am waiting for my DL. I know somebody who passed recently the OSCE where her experience is in cosmetic surgery. I am praying that everything will be alright and most esp. how I wish there will be no more OSCE for those uk nurses aspirants.

I failed this exam twice despite being in ICU for 5 years and working as an outreach nurse for 2- physical assessments on real sick patients is something I do every day, and they still failed me for arbitrary reasons. The best advice I can give you is do not go to a private hospital like I did- go to the NHS, research the hospital's pass rate of the OSCE before you commit to them, make sure you passing is a priority.My honest advice to you is that you can always find another sponsor if you end up being unhappy in your job, but you go home if you fail the OSCE. Private nursing homes and private hospitals lower pass rates than the NHS.

Totally agree. I'm at the stage of sitting my OSCE and I've heard such terrible stories I'm not going to book it any time soon (if ever). I know 3 extremely competent nurses who have failed it twice not for their lack of skills or knowledge but for not confiscating cigarettes, or for tipping an un-needed pill from the lid back into the container, instant fail, 1000 pounds down the drain.

Defiantly a power trip experience for the OSCE assessors. I doubt half of current UK nurses would pass it.

Totally agree. I'm at the stage of sitting my OSCE and I've heard such terrible stories I'm not going to book it any time soon (if ever). I know 3 extremely competent nurses who have failed it twice not for their lack of skills or knowledge but for not confiscating cigarettes, or for tipping an un-needed pill from the lid back into the container, instant fail, 1000 pounds down the drain.

Defiantly a power trip experience for the OSCE assessors. I doubt half of current UK nurses would pass it.

Hi. I just want to ask how was your preparation for the OSCE? Where are you hired? Thank you.

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