Your question answered by Dr Vin on "What to do when you are stuck in the OSCE?"

Your question answered

"What should I do when I get stuck in the OSCE?"  Dr C, Past Exam Candidate Qld.

My simple tips here are:

1. The first one is obvious....ie try not to say Hmmm...Hmmm....Ahhhh....which most of us have done one time or another.  It is so easy to do when you are nervous.
2. Try not to be nervous by being prepared and have the right mindset for the OSCE as discussed in our previous "Your question answered" post on Wed 25/04/12.
3. Do a brief summary is probably the most helpful here eg  "So John, what you have told me so far is that you have been having this vague discomfort in your tummy for the last 3months.  It is not related to food.  It is not related to exercise.  And your bowels are fine.  Is there anything else you can tell me?"  Doing a quick summary might help you to become more "centred" again so that you can gather your thoughts and then solve the problem.  It will also help with the "flow" of your consult in the OSCE.

Anyone else with other tips, please feel free to comment in the comment section below.

Hope this will help.

Dr Vin Tran
MBBS FRACGP University of Qld
http://www.priorityhealthmedicalcentre.com.au/