5 Mar 2019
Jane Davidson reveals the first rule of OSCE Club, which is a necessary step to creating some exam-worthy accessories.
Jane Davidson
Job Title
"You may also use your OSCE Club toys to help train others if you become a clinical coach." Image © VIKTORIIA / Adobe Stock
Practising for objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) can be tough at home or work.
The exams are set to assess specific tasks we carry out as part of our larger skills base. In particular, tasks such as checking a urinary catheter or carrying out tube feeding are a snapshot of the critical areas of safe practice. This means it can be hard to simulate the exact exam conditions when carrying out normal nursing duties.
So, what can you do to help you? Well, to put it in SIII terms, you could carry out surgery on some soft toys. Yes, it’s often a necessary step to creating some exam-worthy accessories, so get prepared to join OSCE Club.
Of the commonly sat OSCE exams, a soft toy might help you practice:
However, you might need to make some alterations to your stuffed friends first – and you might not want to share with non OSCE Club members exactly what you’ve done.
For the NO tube, foley catheter and fluids you need to create an entry point and an exit point, so your toy doesn’t become soggy and water logged. Sitting them on top of a plastic food bowl allows a reservoir area to collect what you have “given“ the patient.
You might find bandaging easier if the patients leg is made more rigid with wooden or plastic “bones” inserted.
Where can I get suitable “patients”, I hear you ask…
Yes, Ikea – I’m sorry to say we often look to you first for our soft toy needs. Ikea has unknowingly created soft toys that are a good size, have the flexibility for imaging and bandaging, and have seams that can be easily altered to allow for tubing, suturing and more.
Size, stuffing and price all help make for soft toys that are useful for us. From the large Gosig Golden dog for bandaging and imaging, to the smaller cats for NO tubes, and the little Gosig dog for a urinary catheter. Even their toy rats and mice are a perfect size to demonstrate handling and buster collars on.
If an Ikea isn’t near you then some of the toys can be delivered, so it’s worth checking out the website, but think of the meatballs you’ll miss out on.
These may be cheaper than Ikea, and they are more accessible to most of us, but you might struggle to get the large type of dog toys for imaging and bandaging. Otherwise, you should find a suitable selection of toys just waiting for extra orifices to be made.
Beyond your OSCEs, your OSCE Club friends could also help you by taking suturing pads and other more advanced skills support like percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tubes.
You may also use your OSCE Club toys to help train others if you become a clinical coach, or are simply supporting colleagues with their OSCE exams.
Having stood at the till in Ikea with two trolley loads of stuffed animals, I could tell from the cashier’s expression she expected me to share a heart-warming story about buying for a nursery or similar. I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth, that I had selected the scissors already that would penetrate the cat toy’s nose.
So, it’s best to remember… what happens in OSCE Club stays in OSCE Club!
