OSCE Stations for Nurses: Examples, Sample Questions and How to Prepare

Published · By VMS, Alehundred Studios

OSCE stations for nurses are short, timed bedside tasks, such as a focused assessment, a medication pass, a dressing change or a teaching session, that you perform with a standardized patient or a manikin while an examiner scores you with a checklist. Published nursing OSCEs use 4 to 6 stations of 6 to 12 minutes each, and the stations follow the work of a new nurse on a medical-surgical unit. Below are the stations that come up most, how they are scored, OSCE exam sample questions for nurses with model answers, and a practical plan for OSCE exam preparation for nursing students.

What are OSCE stations for nurses?

OSCE stations for nurses are standardized clinical tasks that every student in a cohort performs under the same conditions, the same time limit and the same scoring sheet. In the nursing program described in BMC Nursing, "There are usually six OSCE stations, each taking 10–12 min, with a 2-min break between them." The skills evaluated include "taking medical history, nursing assessment for a holistic approach, clinical-manual skills, patient-education skills, critical thinking, and clinical decision-making principles."

Timing varies by school:

Note: the UK NMC test of competence is a separate OSCE; this guide covers US nursing programs for RN, PN and NP students.

What stations come up in a nursing OSCE?

The most common nursing OSCE stations are assessment, medication administration, wound care, oxygen therapy, resuscitation and patient education. Published programs list them clearly:

These line up with the 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, which lists activities such as "Properly identify client when providing care," "Prepare and administer medications using rights of medication administration," "Provide preoperative and postoperative education" and "Provide postoperative care." Your school's OSCE tests the same activities at the bedside.

What are OSCE stations for medical surgical nursing?

OSCE stations for medical surgical nursing are adult health scenarios built around hospitalized patients: postoperative care, diabetes, heart failure, fever, pain, IV lines and safe medication administration. They make up much of a nursing OSCE, because many new nurses start on these units. In the Taiwan study, new nurses working on medical-surgical wards had a passing rate of 85.7%, significantly higher than new nurses outside medical-surgical and ICU-emergency units.

A good list of OSCE stations for adult health nursing to practice:

  1. Postoperative assessment with incentive spirometer teaching.
  2. Recognizing and treating low blood glucose.
  3. Oral or IV medication administration with patient identification.
  4. Heart failure discharge teaching.
  5. Fever assessment and care.
  6. Dry dressing change on a surgical incision.
  7. IV site assessment and care.
  8. Focused respiratory or abdominal assessment.

For the step-by-step checklist of a dressing-change station, see our OSCE station checklist guide.

What are some OSCE exam sample questions for nurses, with answers?

Below are four OSCE questions for medical surgical nursing with answers. We wrote them as practice examples from the official guidance cited; in a real station, follow your facility's protocols and the provider's orders.

Sample station 1: postoperative day 1

Question: Mr. Daniels, 67, is on postoperative day 1 after abdominal surgery. Perform a focused assessment and teach him to use his incentive spirometer. You have 8 minutes.

Model answer:

  1. Introduces self, identifies the patient with two identifiers, explains, gains consent, performs hand hygiene.
  2. Checks vital signs and oxygen saturation, and rates pain on a 0 to 10 scale.
  3. Assesses breath sounds, the incision and dressing, bowel sounds, urine output and the IV site.
  4. Teaches the spirometer: sit upright, seal the lips around the mouthpiece, breathe in slowly, then hold. MedlinePlus advises "Hold your breath for 3 to 5 seconds" and "Take 10 to 15 breaths with your spirometer every 1 to 2 hours, or as often as instructed by your provider."
  5. Shows him how to splint the incision with a pillow while breathing in.
  6. Has him demonstrate it back, encourages early walking as ordered, documents and reports abnormal findings.

Sample station 2: low blood glucose

Question: Mrs. Patel, 58, has type 2 diabetes and takes insulin. Before lunch she says she feels shaky and sweaty. Her fingerstick glucose is 58 mg/dL. She is alert and can swallow. What do you do?

Model answer:

  1. Recognizes hypoglycemia: per the NIDDK, treatment applies when glucose is "below your target or less than 70 mg/dL."
  2. Gives fast-acting carbohydrate per protocol: "Eat or drink 15 to 20 grams of glucose or carbohydrates right away," such as glucose tablets or 4 ounces of juice.
  3. Rechecks: "Wait 15 minutes and check your blood glucose level again," and repeats the treatment if it is still low.
  4. Once glucose is back in range, gives a snack or the meal if lunch is more than an hour away.
  5. Stays with the patient, notifies the provider, reviews the insulin dose and documents.
  6. States the escalation: if the patient cannot swallow or loses consciousness, call for help and follow protocol; the NIDDK names glucagon as "the best way to treat severely low blood glucose."

Sample station 3: medication administration

Question: Give Mr. Brooks his scheduled oral medications. You have 6 minutes.

Model answer:

  1. Checks the order against the medication record.
  2. Performs hand hygiene; identifies the patient with two identifiers and checks allergies.
  3. Applies the rights of medication administration. The Taiwan station listed "right drug, right route, right time, right dose, and right patient."
  4. Performs any required pre-check, such as blood pressure and heart rate before a blood pressure medication.
  5. Explains each medication's purpose and main side effects in plain language.
  6. Stays until the medications are taken, documents, and plans to monitor for effects and adverse reactions.

Sample station 4: heart failure discharge teaching

Question: Ms. Grant, 72, is going home after a heart failure admission. Teach her how to monitor herself at home. You have 8 minutes.

Model answer:

  1. Opening items, then assesses what she already knows.
  2. Daily weights: MedlinePlus advises "Weigh yourself every morning on the same scale when you get up -- before you eat but after you use the bathroom," and to write the weight down every day.
  3. When to call: if she gains "more than 2 pounds (lb) (1 kilogram, kg) in a day, or 5 lb (2 kg) in a week," or has new shortness of breath, swelling or chest pain.
  4. Reviews the diet, fluid and medication instructions from her discharge plan.
  5. Uses teach-back: asks her to repeat the plan in her own words, then documents the teaching.

How are nursing OSCE stations scored?

Nursing OSCE stations are scored with a checklist of observable actions, often combined with a global rating. In the BMC Nursing program, "Calculating an OSCE station score is based on combining the results of the binary structured checklist, 90%; and the global-rating scale, 10%." In the Taiwan study, each checklist had 10 to 12 items scored 0, 1 or 2, so an action done out of sequence earned only partial credit.

Know where students lose points. In the Tehran records, "The weakest performance was observed in clinical interpretation and patient education stations," and on wound and medication stations students "demonstrated lower accuracy in documentation, patient education, and ongoing monitoring." In Taiwan, "All the novice nursing practitioners at Station A had poor performance in assessing patients with a fever." Teaching, documentation and follow-up hide easy marks.

How do you prepare for an OSCE in nursing?

You prepare for a nursing OSCE by rehearsing each likely station as a full, timed encounter, with a checklist and someone scoring you. Here is a plan for how to prepare for OSCE nursing exams:

  1. Get your format. Ask how many stations, how many minutes, whether you get reading time and who scores you.
  2. List your stations. Use your course objectives and the NCLEX activities above; the adult health list in this article is a good start.
  3. Write a checklist for each one. Opening, task steps, teaching, documentation, closing.
  4. Rehearse out loud with a timer. A 5-minute task feels very different from a 12-minute one.
  5. Practice the weak spots on purpose. Teaching with teach-back, documenting with date and time, and stating what you will monitor next.
  6. Practice in simulation. In the training study, "examinees who were trained through the simulation methodology performed better compared to those trained via the other methodologies." Virtual preparation also works: in the BMC Nursing program, the authors write that their virtual program "succeeded in preparing students for an in-person OSCE."
  7. Plan for nerves. In a qualitative study of nursing students in BMC Medical Education, the themes drawn from student interviews included "Pre-exam counseling and stress reduction" and "Peer connection to exchange information." Run a full mock circuit with classmates before exam week.

For general strategy that applies to every OSCE, see our OSCE exam tips.

Can nurses practice OSCE stations with a virtual patient?

Yes. VMS, the Virtual Medical Simulator, has a Nursing program for RN, PN and NP students, and every case runs as an OSCE station: one virtual patient, a step-by-step checklist and a score from 0 to 100%. Each case shows the exam content areas it trains from the 2026 NCLEX-RN and PN Test Plans.

In each encounter you introduce yourself, gain consent, wash your hands or put on gloves, examine the patient with your hands (palpate, auscultate, take a pulse) and with tools such as the stethoscope, and close the encounter. Teach, Train and Test modes take you from guided practice to a scored attempt, and the OSCE exam button picks a random patient from your program and starts it in Test mode, with no hints and a time limit. Attempts are saved to your account, and nursing educators can set up cases on the web and see results per student. VMS runs on PC with mouse and keyboard and in VR with a laser pointer, solo or in multiplayer with your class, with an educator running the room as an option.

VMS comes with 3 free cases, so you can try the whole workflow without paying. A subscription unlocks every case, and a subscriber can share their cases with friends or classmates in multiplayer, as long as the subscriber hosts the session and stays connected.

FAQ

How do I prepare for an OSCE in nursing?

Learn your format, list the likely stations, write a checklist for each one and rehearse full timed encounters with a classmate scoring you. Spend extra time on patient teaching, documentation and monitoring, where nursing students lose the most points.

What are OSCE exam sample questions for nurses?

They pair a short patient scenario with a task: assess a postoperative patient, treat low blood glucose, give medications safely or teach heart failure self-monitoring. The model answers above show the actions that earn marks.

What are adult health nursing OSCE questions?

Medical-surgical scenarios with hospitalized adults: postoperative care, diabetes, heart failure, fever, wound care, IV lines and medications. Each tests assessment, a safe intervention, teaching and documentation.

How many stations are in a nursing OSCE?

In published nursing programs, 4 to 6: they describe six stations of 10 to 12 minutes, four stations of 10 minutes, and six stations of 6 minutes.

Is the nursing OSCE the same as the NCLEX?

No. The NCLEX-RN is a computer-based licensure exam, while the OSCE is a hands-on exam run by your school. Both draw on the same nursing activities, such as identifying the client and administering medications safely.

Is there a free way to practice nursing OSCE stations?

Yes. Practice with classmates using a written checklist and a timer, and use open skills-lab hours. VMS comes with 3 free cases, so you can try the whole workflow without paying. A subscription unlocks every case, and a subscriber can share their cases with friends or classmates in multiplayer, as long as the subscriber hosts the session and stays connected.

Sources

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  2. Chen SH, Chen SC, Lai YP, Chen PH, Yeh KY. The objective structured clinical examination as an assessment strategy for clinical competence in novice nursing practitioners in Taiwan. BMC Nursing, 2021.
  3. Guerrero JG, Alqarni AS, Estadilla LT, Benjamin LS, Rani VI. Raters and examinees training for objective structured clinical examination: comparing the effectiveness of three instructional methodologies. BMC Nursing, 2024.
  4. Farsi Z, Taghaee F, Habibi H, Shirvani R. Performance of undergraduate nursing students across Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE): a retrospective cross-sectional study. BMC Medical Education, 2026.
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  6. National Council of State Boards of Nursing. 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan. NCSBN, 2026.
  7. MedlinePlus. Using an incentive spirometer. US National Library of Medicine.
  8. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Low Blood Glucose (Hypoglycemia). NIDDK, NIH.
  9. MedlinePlus. Heart failure - discharge. US National Library of Medicine.
  10. Alizadeh M, Behshid M, Cheraghi R, Dehghani G. Nursing students' experiences of professional competence evaluation by Objective Structured Clinical examination method: a qualitative content analysis study. BMC Medical Education, 2024.