The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), UK, is increasing the number of Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) providers from Feb 2022 onwards. The Council has granted contracts to two more partners to deliver the OSCE, a part of the Test of Competence (ToC).
The test of competence allows overseas-trained professionals and those returning to practice after a while to prove that they have the skills and knowledge to care for people safely and effectively.
Moreover, apart from renewing contracts with current OSCE test sites, which are
· Oxford Brookes University
· The University of Northampton and
· Ulster University
the NMC has given contracts to two more partners, and those are;
· Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and
· Northumbria University.
The new contracts follow a competitive and open bidding process across all four countries of the UK.
Candidates will be able to book their tests from December. Detailed instructions on how to book the test will be shared by Dec on the official website of the NMC.
CHANGES IN OSCE
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has also upgraded the pattern of the OSCE exam lately as a part of continuous improvement. There were only six stations in the previous format - four APIE and two clinical skill stations. At the same time, the new pattern of OSCE consists of ten stations. They are;
· 4 APIE stations
· Two pairs of two clinical skills with one professional value and one evidence-based practice.
Professional value and the evidence-based station are written stations and are a new addition to the latest test of competence. The marks for each station vary, and the time duration in total will be 2 hours and 45 minutes.
The OSCE test for Midwives
The midwifery OSCE assessment is similar to the adult test of competence with ten stations of four APIE and two pair of two skills. One linked skill will always include systematic examination of the newborn and postnatal check. The duration of the pair will be between 20-30 minutes. The total period of the test will be for 2 hours and 45 minutes, the same as that of the adult test of competence.
