by Ping Hei Alfie Lee, Y5 Medical Student, Newcastle University, UK.
OSCE stands for Objective Structured Clinical Examination. It consists of a series of simulated scenarios evaluating student’s clinical competencies based on a set of standardised scoring rubrics. In the UK, OSCE can be a make-or-break event in determining whether a medical student can successfully progress to their next stage of training. Adding to their stress, the simulated patients might present them with unexpected information or the examiners might pose questions requesting very detailed knowledge of a specific condition, putting the students on the spot in a time-constrained environment.
At Newcastle University, students get their first taste of OSCE during the third year. Some students are lucky enough to form study groups they can practice with to prepare for OSCE, but many go without. And even for those lucky few, they might not have any senior guidance.
In ENT and ophthalmology, the difficulty for OSCE preparation is further increased by the lack of formal teaching and a dearth of clinical exposures. The number of core conditions in those specialities are limited in the curriculum, so students often focused their energy on conditions in other body systems and have a very limited understanding of the pathology in the eyes and ears. Many students might not recognise that ophthalmic or otolaryngological symptoms can often be manifestations of wider systemic diseases, thus missing out on significant information that can aid them in making diagnosis and sound management plan.
So, to help the wider student community address these challenges, the Newcastle Ophthalmology Society collaborated with the Newcastle ENT and OMFS Society to organise the Great OSCE Fair on 27 April 2024. The event brought together seasoned students from senior years to act as simulated actors and examiners in two circuits of mock exam stations. These senior-year student mentors drew upon their past exam experience and real-world clinical experiences to help the third-year student mentees practice their clinical skills and gave them constructive feedback. The circuits included not only patients with classical core conditions in ophthalmology and ENT, but they also consisted of patients presenting with ophthalmic and otolaryngological symptoms leading the clinicians to uncover wider systemic pathology. For example, one mock station had a simulated patient presenting with pain triggered by extraocular movement and proptosis, who was found to have poorly controlled hyperthyroidism. Another station had a patient presenting with homonymous hemianopsia, who was diagnosed with a stroke.
The Great OSCE Fair had two objectives:
- Help junior year students boost their confidence and provide them with tips and tricks to ace their OSCE
- Broaden the appeal of both ophthalmology and ENT to the general student population. We endeavour to enhance their knowledge in the eyes and ears and help them become better and more well-rounded clinicians.
The event was successfully hosted and well attended. In the feedback, many attendees loved how we blended in the applications of ophthalmic knowledge in managing both ophthalmic and non-ophthalmic conditions. Our senior year mentors have also gained valuable experience in teaching and consolidated their knowledge in the field by giving back to their junior colleagues. Looking at the big smiles of our volunteer mentors and the glowing feedback from our mentees, it was a wonderful day for ophthalmology in the Northeast!
