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OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination)

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What are the opportunities to get involved in the OSCEs?

An Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an examination comprised of a series of clinical stations, consisting of multiple tracks. The examinations are used to assess clinical competence at all levels of medical education, from Year 1 medical school to licensure in Canada.

As an Examiner, you will observe students or candidates interacting with a Standardized Patient in a clinical encounter and score their performances according to specific guidelines.

For new Examiners, a mandatory short training session will be provided 1-2 weeks before each examination.

Year 1 & 3 OSCEs (Formative)

  • Verbal feedback from the examiner immediately after the patient encounter
  • Individual Student Score Report (data relative to peers) six weeks after the exam
  • No Pass or Fail mark is provided to the student

Year 2 & 4 OSCEs (Summative)

  • No verbal feedback from the examiner
  • Individual Student Score Report (data relative to peers) six weeks after the exam
  • A Pass or Fail mark is provided to the student six weeks after the exam
  • General exam results and trends back to the curriculum team to enable a responsive and adaptive curriculum

What tasks are students expected to perform during a OSCE?

At each OSCE station:

  • A brief written statement introduces a clinical problem
  • Students or candidates are asked to perform activities with a Standardized Patient such as obtain a history, conduct a physical examination, or assess and address the patient’s issues
  • Students may be asked additional standardized questions by the Examiner in some stations

What types of OSCEs are delivered?

We deliver two types of OSCEs throughout the academic year, these include:

  1. UGME OSCEs, both formative and summative, which assess medical students in all four years of the program based at the Vancouver-Fraser (VFMP) site. We run approximately 4 UBC OSCEs throughout an academic year.
  2. The National Assessment Collaboration (NAC) examinations provide a preparation examination for international medical graduates prior to the CaRMS match.

When do the OSCEs take place?

Organised by earliest occurrence.

FormatExam DayFaculty Development Workshop
Year 4 OSCESummative (High stakes)February 15, 2025February 4 & 6, 2025
Year 2 OSCESummative (High stakes)April 5, 2025March 25 & 27, 2025
Year 1 OSCEFormative (Low stakes)April 26, 2025April 15 & 17, 2025
Year 3 OSCEFormative (Low stakes)May 31, 2025May 20 & 22, 2025

FAQ

What are the benefits of becoming an OSCE Examiner?

  • Professional development credits
  • Compensation for your time
  • Contribution to medical education

What are the requirements to become an OSCE Examiner?

Examination qualifications change with each examination, however, all Physician Examiners must:

  • Hold an MD qualification and have a clinical or academic faculty appointment with the UBC Faculty of Medicine or
  • Be a resident in a UBC Faculty of Medicine Postgraduate Program in a clinical specialty, have completed a minimum 12 months of training as a resident and have successfully completed Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCQE) Part I
  • Currently practicing medicine in British Columbia or is actively involved in Clinical Skills teaching in the MD Undergraduate Program
  • Be in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC)
  • Be comfortable using your own personal laptop to submit assessments of the student(s)

What are the general responsibilities of an OSCE Examiner?

As an Examiner, you contribute to a consistent experience for students. After witnessing students’ ability to use their communication, clinical and clinical reasoning skills, you then score the station using a standard checklist and rating scale.

Formative Examiners provide real-time verbal feedback immediately after the patient encounter that the student may then incorporate into their individual learning plans and goals. 

What does compensation look like?

OSCE Examiners are compensated following the UBC Faculty of Medicine Clinical Faculty Compensation Terms for Teaching in the MD Undergraduate and Postgraduate programs. Clinical faculty are paid $106.03/hour, and residents are paid $90/hour.

The faculty development workshops are unpaid workshops, but attendees can claim CPD units.

Who are my OSCE contacts?