The OSCE is a daunting exam. Our Diary of a Pre-re Optometrist shares their top 5 tips for success in the OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) exams and effective communication:
- Practice Active Listening: Pay close attention to what the patient or examiner is saying. Show empathy, ask clarifying questions, and reflect on their concerns. Effective communication starts with listening. This also ties in with body language, good body language shows to the examiner that you care about the patient. Remember not to slack/slouch or anything at all with the patient, this is all non-verbal communication, make sure to be aware of your non-verbal cues such as body language, facial expressions, and posture. Maintain eye contact and use appropriate gestures to convey empathy and understanding throughout the station.
- Use Open-Ended Questions: When gathering information, ask open-ended questions that encourage patients to share more details about their condition. This helps you gather comprehensive information, Rather than forcing everything out of the patient, this can possibly lead to missing out crucial information. If you use open ended questions, the patient will naturally describe what’s happening to them to start with.
- Maintain Eye Contact: Establishing and maintaining eye contact conveys confidence and attentiveness. Confidence plays a significant role in maintaining eye contact. The more you practice and build confidence in your communication skills, the easier it becomes to maintain eye contact.
- Organize Your Thoughts and Practise: OSCE exams often require structured communication. Use frameworks like SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) or SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan) to present information clearly and concisely. Practising mock scenarios, with colleagues, friends, or mentors in mock OSCE scenarios to improve your communication skills and become more comfortable with the examination format. Have a structured approach – develop a systematic approach to clinical examinations and patient interactions and also try to do as much practice with mock exams to create practice OSCE stations to simulate the real exam environment. This helps you get accustomed to the format and time constrain
- Communication – Use clear, simple language when explaining medical concepts or procedures. Avoid jargon or technical terms that the patient may not understand. Clarity in communication is vital and so is patient education – to provide relevant information to patients about their condition, treatment options, and potential side effects, use plain language for this.
Remember that effective communication in OSCE exams is not just about conveying information but also about building rapport, showing empathy, and ensuring patient understanding.
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