Clinical Skills for OSCEs

"The previous customer review claimed that there was a discrepancy between stations 4 and 6. However, station 4 discusses cannula sizes whereas station 6 discusses NEEDLE sizes, and these ARE actually different. So please beware of inaccuracies when telling people to "beware of inaccuracies"!"
~ Written on 2007-06-17

"Iam a third year medical student and wanted a book to see me through the dreaded OSCE exam. I was advised by a friend to buy this book, which I did.

Overall the book has very good content and is just the ticket to prepare for the exam. It covers a good spread of topics and is easy to read/absorb. The book is worth its weight in gold.

However, BE WARY! I was a little disappointed by some sloppy editing and factual errors in the book. For example the 4th 'station' lists cannulae sizes and colours. Turn just THREE pages to the 6th station and the cannulae sizes and colours have changed! Two pages later a list of things to do 'after the procedure' repeats the same point twice, verbatim.

Would I recommend the book? Yes. It's excellent. Just make sure you keep your wits about you when reading the finer detail!"
~ Written on 2007-05-29

"This second edition of the popular Clinical Skills for OSCEs is probably the only book you'll ever need for your OSCEs. It takes you step-by-step through 112 clinical skills ranging from examining the cranial nerves to breaking bad news and from prescribing a controlled drug to obtaining consent. It also includes more obscure skills that are not covered by other books such as operating a syringe driver and handling the MMR controversy. The book is beautifully presented and illustrated, with some very helpful diagrams such as the ones on abdominal scars and inguinal anatomy. Thanks to the authors' clear and direct approach, I found myself mastering skills that I had been struggling with for years. A gem of a book that every medical student should be reading. Without it I would have needed much more time to prepare for my exams, and not done nearly as well."
~ Written on 2006-06-30

"Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are the type of exam that all students fear greatly. Unlike written exams, in OSCEs examiners can ask questions for which they need the answers immediately. You can't leave the answers to the end of the exam when you have time to think about them. For this reason revision for OSCEs involves a lot of rehearsals and drilling so that the information is virtually bubbling from your cerebral cortex when entering the Clinical Skills Centre.

A number of OSCE books have been written recently, and these appear to form one of the fastest growing areas of medical textbook types. The book under review here is written by a number of graduates from GKT, which makes the book all the more interesting to students still studying at GKT.

The book takes the form of systems based approach, with 90 scenarios broadly based in areas such as paediatrics, geriatrics or dermatology. Each of the scenarios contains an introductory statement of the task for that station, followed by a brief overview with tips, and a step-by-step guide of how to carry out the station.

Rather than explaining exactly how to do each step, the book assumes you already know how to, for example, test muscle tone and reflexes, and acts more as a guide to what needs to be included for each scenario and the order in which to do them.

One of the most useful aspects of the book is the box at the end of most OSCE scenarios stating the most common conditions examined in that particular OSCE. This is ideal for revision guidance when trying to impress the examiner with your medical knowledge.

This is a very good book covering virtually all the possible OSCE stations that you are likely to find yourself in for MBBS. Other than the price, I can find very little to criticise the book of, and I will definitely be using it for my OSCE revision this summer.

Joel Newman."
~ Written on 2003-07-27

"I am a forth year medic preparing for my OSCEs and have found this book to be by far the best from the wide selection available.

All of the likely stations for third, forth and fifth year OSCEs are included in the book, including the unexpected ones that can really take you by surprise if you get them unprepared. The stations are put into sections by the system/speciality that they come under, with stations ranging from history taking and the standard examinations to practical procedures and “strange” assessments.

The layout of the book is simple and easy to follow, with each aspect of the stations given subheadings that make them easier to remember (e.g. inspection, palpation, percussion, auscultation).

The style is concise and to the point, meaning that it is easy to refer back to if you get stuck during your practice. This does mean that there are some points in the text where a little more explanation would be appreciated, and you may find yourself referring to a clinical examination text occasionally. Students from GKT will find this book especially useful as it has been written by some of our own ex-students, hence the examples should follow the kinds of stations that you will get during your actual OSCEs.

Overall: A very useful book, and the best one that I have found."
~ Written on 2003-05-27