The need to prepare adequately for any university examination is beyond refute and students may struggle with the OSCE assessment if they are unprepared or have unrealistic expectations of the OSCE process (Bloomfield et al. 2010). Adequate preparation will enable you to: ● Minimize any anxiety related to the examination, ● Understand the requirements of the OSCE, ● Facilitate accurate, systematic and timely performance of the OSCE, ● Enable you to give full justice to your professional ability…. OSCEs represent an important opportunity for you to further develop your nursing knowledge and skills. Effective preparation will give you a better opportunity to learn effectively from your OSCE and enable you to view the experience positively (see Chapter 14 Reflecting upon your OSCE). Preparation for your OSCE will clearly be affected by your own learning style and where and how you study is likely to be adapted to suit your own learning needs. You may well have completed a learning style assessment quiz such as Honey and Mumford’s (1986) at university; if not, you are able to access this online. It may be best to link your study for your OSCE to your learning style. Honey and Mumford (1986) identified several differing learning styles that are briefly described here. These include: ● Reflector: Tend to explore issues in depth before reaching a decision, ● Theorist: Logical and enjoy researching and using theory to enable understanding, ● Pragmatist: Like to apply things in practice and experiment with new ideas, ● Activists: Are open to new ideas and learn through experience alongside others. Therefore you can use your understanding of your learning style to help plan how you may best revise/prepare for your OSCE. For example: ● Activist: May prepare best by practising for your OSCE with your colleagues and practising your OSCE in the skills room or in a group outside of university. ● Reflector: May learn best by reviewing your own experience or learning from reflecting on experiences you have had in clinical practice. ● Theorist: May prepare by reviewing the literature and reading around the subject matter of your OSCE in appropriate literature, OSCE and clinical skills books.
