Core Clinical Skills for OSCEs

OSCEs (objective structured clinical examinations) were set up in the UK in response to the General Medical Council's document Tomorrow's Doctors, expanding the emphasis in medical exams from factual knowledge to skills. Written by a hospital dean and an associate dean in Manchester, this book focuses on the OSCE system used twice a year to exam. ine all Manchester clinical students. With an OSCE looming on the horizon I couldn't think of a better time to pick up a textbook written by people involved in planning my exam.

Divided into sections corresponding to each body system, the book contains examples of possible stations, such as history taking in patients with chest pain or male catheterisation skills every preregistration house officer must surely face. As well as examinations and procedures the book explores areas such as communication, attitudes, and data interpretation. Each scenario begins with the official OSCE instruction, and this