OSCE Preparation Blog
Expert tips, study guides, and exam strategies from NHS doctors who've been through it. Practical advice to help you pass.
The Complete Clinical OSCE Candidate Guide: How to Use OSCE Revisions
A free, no-signup walkthrough of OSCE Revisions for school-shaped and flexible UK OSCEs — customisable mocks, the full library, and how to match the platform to your format.
The Complete AMC Clinical Candidate Guide: How to Use OSCE Revisions
A free, no-signup walkthrough of OSCE Revisions for AMC Clinical — the 20-station circuit, Australian-localised library, 13-domain marking, and a readiness checklist.
The Complete MLA OSCE Candidate Guide: How to Use OSCE Revisions
A free, no-signup walkthrough of OSCE Revisions for finals-style MLA OSCE / UKMLA CPSA — 12 × 10-minute stations, the examiner viva, and the readiness checklist.
AMC Prescribing Station: The eTG and PBS Answer Key
In an AMC prescribing station the correct answer is not the drug you would choose at home — it is the one that Therapeutic Guidelines and the PBS support in Australia. Here is how the two systems fit together.
AMC Clinical Ethics Stations: A Reasoning Structure for Professionalism and Difficult Conversations
A repeatable reasoning structure for AMC clinical ethics stations, covering consent and capacity, confidentiality, mandatory reporting, open disclosure, refusal of treatment and cultural safety in the Australian context.
AMC Clinical Emergency Stations: A Repeatable Structure for Acute Presentations
AMC clinical emergency stations reward recognition and prioritisation over exhaustive listing. Here is one repeatable structure for the 8-minute acute station, plus the assessment approach for chest pain, sepsis, anaphylaxis and other acute presentations.
AMC Clinical Counselling Stations: A Repeatable Structure for Management and Education Encounters
A repeatable, Australian-context structure for AMC clinical counselling stations, covering the common management and education topics candidates are tested on.
AMC Clinical Exam Time Management: The 8-Minute System
Every AMC clinical station gives you 2 minutes to read and 8 minutes to perform. Here is a minute-by-minute template for each of the four station types, and how to recover when you fall behind.
AMC Clinical Exam Mistakes: Why Candidates Actually Fail
Most AMC clinical exam mistakes are not clinical knowledge gaps. They are mechanical: candidates run out of time, answer the wrong task, quote the wrong country's guidelines, or perform for the examiner instead of the patient. Here are the 12 that cost the most marks.
AMC Clinical Exam Marking: The Three Layers Examiners Actually Use
AMC clinical exam marking runs on three separate layers inside every station, not one. Understanding the difference between key steps, assessed domains and the examiner's global rating - and why the four predominant assessment areas are a different concept entirely - explains why ticking every checklist item does not guarantee a pass.
AMC Clinical Exam Fees, Dates and Booking: The Full Breakdown
A practical, fully sourced guide to AMC clinical exam fees: the complete fee table, a transparent total-cost calculation for the Standard Pathway, and how booking, scheduling and refunds actually work.
AMC Clinical Exam Pass Rate: What the Evidence Actually Shows
The AMC does not publish a current pass rate for its clinical exam. Here is the one rigorously documented figure that does exist, why it cannot predict your result, and what actually determines a pass: 9 of 14 scored stations, with no averaging.
How to Pass the AMC Clinical Exam: The Complete Strategy Guide
The definitive guide to how to pass the AMC clinical exam: why consistency across 14 scored stations beats brilliance in a few, how examiners actually mark you, and how to structure your preparation.
UKMLA vs PLAB 2: What's the Difference and Which Applies to You?
PLAB 2 is not a separate exam from the UKMLA, it is how IMGs sit it. Here is how the CPSA and PLAB 2 relate, and which route applies to you.
Failed the CPSA? What Happens Next and How to Approach a Resit
Failing the CPSA is far more common, and far more survivable, than it feels right now. Here is what typically happens next and how to prepare differently for a resit.
AKT vs CPSA: The Two Parts of the UKMLA Explained
The AKT and CPSA test different things in different ways. Here is how they compare, why students who ace one can fail the other, and how to prepare for both in parallel.
CPSA Mark Scheme: How the UKMLA OSCE Is Actually Marked
There is no single national CPSA mark scheme — each medical school builds its own to GMC standards. Here is how domain-based marking generally works and what examiners actually reward.
CPSA Common Mistakes: Why Students Fail the UKMLA OSCE
Most CPSA failures are not knowledge gaps. Here are the common mistakes students make in the UKMLA OSCE, why they happen, and exactly how to fix them.
The Complete PLAB 2 Candidate Guide: How to Use OSCE Revisions
A practical walkthrough of OSCE Revisions for PLAB 2 — what to study, in what order, and how to turn feedback into a pass — plus a free downloadable PDF. No signup required to download.
AI OSCE Practice: How Voice Patients Improve Results
Finding study partners and feedback is the hardest part of OSCE prep. Here is how AI voice patients give you unlimited realistic role-play and instant, structured feedback.
OSCE History-Taking Framework: The Calgary-Cambridge Model
A reliable history-taking framework keeps you focused, structured and patient-centred under pressure. Here is the Calgary-Cambridge model adapted for OSCE stations.
OSCE Communication Skills Masterclass
Communication is the domain most candidates underestimate and the one that most often decides a pass. Here is a masterclass in the OSCE communication skills that score.
NAC OSCE Preparation: Study Plan and High-Yield Stations
How to structure your NAC OSCE preparation and which station types to prioritise, with Canadian-context management, applied practice and timed mocks built in.
NAC OSCE Canadian Guidelines: What to Study
NAC OSCE management is judged against Canadian standards. Here is why the Canadian context matters and which Canadian sources to build your management knowledge from.
NAC OSCE Structure: From Greeting to Safety-Net
A reliable encounter structure is what keeps you calm and complete in an 11-minute station. Here is a step-by-step NAC OSCE structure from greeting to safety-net.
NAC OSCE Explained: Format, Stations and Scoring
The NAC OSCE assesses readiness for Canadian residency. Here is the station format, timing, the competencies examiners score, and what to expect.
AMC vs PLAB 2: Key Differences for IMGs
Deciding between Australia and the UK? Here is how the AMC Clinical Exam and PLAB 2 compare on format, guidelines, cost and pathway, so you can choose with clear eyes.
AMC Clinical Role Play: Practising Out Loud to Pass
The AMC Clinical Exam is structured conversation, not a written test. Here is why role-play practice is essential and how to run it effectively, even without a partner.
AMC Clinical Study Plan (3 and 6 Months)
How to structure your AMC Clinical preparation over 3 or 6 months, with the Australian context, applied role-play practice and timed mocks built in.
Studying AMC Australian Guidelines in Context
The most common reason capable IMGs struggle with the AMC is studying without the Australian context. Here is how to fix that, and which Australian sources to use.
AMC Clinical Exam Explained: Format, Stations and Pass Mark
The AMC Clinical Exam is an OSCE for the Standard Pathway: 20 stations (16 assessed + 4 rest), 2+8 minute timing, and a pass at 9 of 14 scored stations with no averaging.
CPSA Preparation Placements: Your Best Practice
Your placements can be the best CPSA preparation you have, if you use them deliberately. Here is how to turn ward time into exam-ready skills.
UKMLA CPSA Study Plan for Final-Year Students
Final year is busy. Here is a realistic CPSA study plan that fits around placements and finals, prioritising the applied skills that actually score.
CPSA Stations: Types and How to Approach Each One
The CPSA samples across very different station types. Here is what each one tests and a practical strategy to approach history, examination, communication, procedures and more.
How to Use the GMC MLA Content Map to Revise
The GMC MLA Content Map is the blueprint for the whole UKMLA. Here is how to turn it into a prioritised, high-yield revision plan instead of an overwhelming list.
UKMLA CPSA Explained: Format, Stations and What to Expect
The CPSA is the clinical half of the UKMLA. Here is what it is, how it relates to the AKT, who runs it, and what the OSCE format means for your revision.
PLAB 2 Mock Exam: How to Simulate the Real Circuit
A good mock exam is the closest thing to the real PLAB 2. Here is how to simulate the full 18-station circuit and turn your results into a focused revision plan.
Breaking Bad News OSCE SPIKES: A Station Walkthrough
Breaking bad news stations test composure and empathy more than knowledge. Here is how to use the SPIKES protocol to deliver difficult news well under exam pressure.
PLAB 2 Common Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)
Most PLAB 2 failures come from a short list of avoidable mistakes, not knowledge gaps. Here is what they are, by domain, and how to fix each one.
PLAB 2 Study Plan: 4, 8 and 12-Week Schedules
How long you need depends on your starting point, not on how much medicine you know. Here are three realistic PLAB 2 study schedules and how to use them.
Adapting to the UK Consultation Style PLAB 2 Expects
Many IMGs lose PLAB 2 marks not on medicine but on consultation style. Here is how UK / NHS consultations differ and how to adapt your approach.
Safety-Netting OSCE Stations: Phrases That Score
Safety-netting is quick, high-yield, and routinely forgotten under pressure. Here is exactly what to say to score the management and interpersonal marks.
ICE Framework OSCE: Ideas, Concerns and Expectations Without Sounding Robotic
Asking about ideas, concerns and expectations as a tick-box scores poorly. Here is how to weave ICE into an OSCE consultation so it sounds like a real conversation.
PLAB 2 Time Management: The 8-Minute Station Structure
Running out of time is one of the most common reasons candidates fail the management domain. Here is a minute-by-minute structure for the 8-minute PLAB 2 station.
The 3 PLAB 2 Marking Domains, Explained
PLAB 2 is scored across three domains in every clinical station. Here is what each domain rewards, how the pass mark is set, and how to target your practice.
How to Pass PLAB 2 on Your First Attempt
PLAB 2 rewards a safe, structured, human consultation more than raw knowledge. Here is exactly what the exam tests, why candidates fail, and how to prepare to pass on your first attempt.