What Are OSCE Stations? Examples, How Many There Are and How to Practice Them

Published · By VMS, Alehundred Studios

OSCE stations are the short, timed rooms of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination: at each one you get a brief instruction at the door, walk in, and do one clinical task with a patient, such as taking a history, examining a knee or explaining a new medication, while an examiner or the patient scores you. Every student rotates through the same stations with the same patients and the same scoring sheet, which is what makes the exam "objective" and "structured." Most US medical school OSCEs use 5 to 10 stations, and nursing, PA and EMS programs build stations around their own skills. Below are the station types with examples, how many you can expect, how long each one lasts and how to practice them, including free options.

What are OSCE stations?

An OSCE station is one standardized clinical task, set up identically for every student, with a fixed time limit and a fixed scoring tool. A 2025 meta-analysis in BMC Medical Education describes the OSCE as an exam that "evaluates candidates’ professional performance through time-limited stations."

The patient in the room is usually a standardized patient (SP). According to the standards of the Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE), SPs are trained "to portray a patient in realistic and repeatable ways," and "SPs often portray a role and observe behavior simultaneously." So the patient you are talking to is often also the person filling in your checklist after you leave.

A station has three parts:

How many stations are in an OSCE?

Most OSCEs have between 5 and 10 stations, though some have more than 20. A 2025 meta-analysis in BMC Medical Education found that the studies it pooled had "a median station as 9 (ranging from 3 to 24) and a median duration time per station as 9 min (ranging from 5 to 37)." The authors note that "most OSCEs in U.S. medical schools consist of 5–10 stations," and that 5 to 10 stations lasting under 10 minutes each gave the best internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.88).

Real examples from published programs:

Your own school's number is the one that counts, so ask for it early.

How long is each OSCE station?

Most stations last around 10 minutes. The median across the meta-analysis was 9 minutes per station, with a range from 5 to 37 minutes, and the most reliable designs kept each station under 10 minutes. Some schools add a few minutes after the encounter for a written note or questions about your findings. That time belongs to the station, so practice it too.

What types of OSCE stations are there?

The core station types test the same skills you use with real patients. Stanford's MD Program lists the skills its SP-based assessments cover as "history-taking, physical exam, clinical reasoning, patient education and counseling, and patient-provider interaction." Here is what each one looks like as a station.

History-taking stations

You interview a patient with one complaint and collect the story. Example: a 45-year-old with chest pain that started this morning. The checklist covers onset, character, radiation, associated symptoms, risk factors, medications, allergies and social history. The AAMC Core EPA 1 toolkit describes the target: "Obtains a complete and accurate history in an organized fashion." A step on the way there: "Questions are prioritized and not excessive."

Physical examination stations

You examine one system and say what you find. Examples: a cardiac exam, a lung exam, an abdominal exam, a knee or shoulder exam, a cranial nerve exam. Points come from hand hygiene, correct exposure and draping, the right maneuvers in the right order, and the use of tools such as the stethoscope or reflex hammer. The AAMC lists "Targets the exam to areas necessary for the encounter" and "Explains exam maneuvers to patient" as signs of progress, and an entrustable learner "Performs an accurate exam in a logical and fluid sequence."

Combined history and physical stations

Many stations in medical and PA programs mix both: a focused history, a focused exam and a short explanation to the patient, all in one time block. Example: a 30-year-old with right lower quadrant pain. You need a plan for how many minutes go to each part.

Communication and counseling stations

The task is a conversation. Examples: explaining a new diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, counseling on smoking cessation, getting informed consent, discussing a medication change with a worried patient. The AAMC describes the communication you want to show: "silence, open-ended questions, body language, listening, and avoids jargon."

Clinical reasoning stations

After the encounter you write a note or answer questions: your differential diagnosis, the findings that support it and the next tests. Stanford lists clinical reasoning as one of the assessed skills, and in an AAMC phrase, a strong student "Uses the exam to explore and prioritize the working differential diagnosis."

Procedural and skills stations

You perform a hands-on task on a model or with an SP. Examples: measuring vital signs, sterile gloving, wound care, inserting an IV on a task trainer, basic airway management. Checklists here are very step-specific, so sequence matters.

What do OSCE stations look like for nurses, PAs and EMS?

The format is the same; the tasks follow each profession's scope.

Nursing. In the program described in BMC Nursing, "The clinical skills evaluated are taking medical history, nursing assessment for a holistic approach," along with "clinical-manual skills, patient-education skills, critical thinking, and clinical decision-making principles." Stations you can build on those skills include a head-to-toe nursing assessment, vital signs with a focused respiratory assessment, medication administration with patient identification checks, and discharge teaching. For NP students, stations usually look like the medical ones: a focused history, a focused exam and a plan.

Physician assistants. PA stations mirror the medical station types above (history, focused physical exam, counseling and clinical reasoning), because PA students train for the same patient encounter.

EMS. Paramedics and AEMTs no longer take a national psychomotor station exam. The National Registry of EMTs announced that "The last day the ALS psychomotor examination will be administered is June 30, 2024," and that under the new Student Minimum Competency model, "Instead of a one-and-done event, psychomotor skills (and other competencies) will be captured over a longer period, in various settings, and with multiple and differing evaluators." Your program's skill checks are where you meet station-style testing: a scenario, a skill sheet and an evaluator. For EMRs and EMTs, the National Registry states that "The BLS psychomotor examination process is established and approved by each state." Trauma and medical patient assessment are classic EMS stations.

How are OSCE stations scored?

Each station is scored with a checklist of specific actions, and many also use a global rating of your overall performance. In the Rwanda study, "Each station had a checklist with a total score of 20 marks and a three-level GRS (failed, borderline, or passed)," and the global rating caught failing performances that the checklist missed. That is why a smooth, logical encounter matters as much as covering every item. For more on scoring and on what examiners reward, see our guide to OSCE exam tips.

How can you practice OSCE stations for free?

You can practice most OSCE stations for free with classmates, a timer and a written checklist. The key is to practice actively, in the station format, rather than reading about it. In the Innsbruck study, "A short 10-min active intervention to familiarize students with the OSCE setting significantly improved student performance," while the comparison group got "a passive lecture, in which the OSCE setting is explained without active participation of the students."

Free ways to practice:

  1. Run a mock OSCE with classmates. Three people per round: one student, one patient, one examiner. Write a door note, set a timer for your school's station length, swap roles after each case.
  2. Write your own checklists. Use your course objectives and the AAMC EPA 1 behaviors above. A checklist you wrote yourself is one you remember.
  3. Practice the door-note routine. Read the note, plan your first three questions and your exam in 60 seconds, then go.
  4. Rehearse out loud, alone. Narrate a full cardiac or abdominal exam on a family member or even to an empty chair, on the clock.
  5. Use open skills-lab hours. Many schools open their simulation and skills labs for student practice; ask what is available.
  6. Practice online. Virtual practice works for OSCE preparation. In the nursing program in BMC Nursing, students who prepared through a virtual program had OSCE scores with no significant differences from students who prepared in person, and "88% of the students in 2021 were satisfied with the virtual program." The authors write that the program "succeeded in preparing students for an in-person OSCE."

Can you practice OSCE stations with a virtual patient?

Yes. VMS, the Virtual Medical Simulator, turns every case into an OSCE station: one virtual patient, a step-by-step checklist and a score from 0 to 100%. You choose your program (Medicine for MD and DO, Physician Assistant, Nursing for RN, PN and NP, or EMS for EMT and Paramedic), so the stations match your exams.

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 reflex hammer, and close the encounter, the same sequence a real station checklist rewards. Teach mode walks you through a case, Train mode lets you practice it, and Test mode scores you. The OSCE exam button picks a random patient from your program and starts it in Test mode, with no hints and a time limit, like walking up to an unknown door note. Every attempt is saved to your account, so you can track your progress, and educators can set up cases for their students on a web case editor and see results per student. Each case shows the exam content areas it trains, from the USMLE Content Outline and COMLEX-USA Master Blueprint to the NCCPA PANCE Blueprint, the 2026 NCLEX-RN and PN Test Plans and the National EMS Education Standards. VMS runs on PC with mouse and keyboard and in VR with a laser pointer.

FAQ

What are OSCE stations?

OSCE stations are timed, standardized clinical tasks in an Objective Structured Clinical Examination. At each station you read a short instruction, then take a history, examine a patient, counsel, reason through a case or perform a procedure while an examiner or standardized patient scores you with a checklist.

How many stations are in an OSCE?

Most US medical school OSCEs have 5 to 10 stations. Across published studies, the median is 9 stations, with a range from 3 to 24. A nursing program described in BMC Nursing uses six.

How long is each OSCE station?

Usually around 10 minutes. The median in a 2025 meta-analysis was 9 minutes per station, with a range from 5 to 37 minutes.

What are some OSCE station examples?

A focused history for chest pain, an abdominal or knee exam, counseling a patient with new diabetes, explaining a medication, measuring vital signs, sterile gloving and a trauma patient assessment are all typical stations.

Are there OSCE stations for nurses?

Yes. Nursing OSCEs assess history taking, nursing assessment, clinical-manual skills, patient education, critical thinking and clinical decision-making. One published nursing program uses six stations of 10 to 12 minutes each, with a 2-minute break between them.

Where can I practice OSCE stations for free?

With classmates: take turns as student, patient and examiner, use a written checklist and keep strict time. Add open skills-lab hours at your school and online or virtual patient practice.

Sources

  1. Peng Q, Luo J, Wang C, Chen L, Tan S. Impact of station number and duration time per station on the reliability of Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) scores: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Medical Education, 2025.
  2. Lewis KL, Bohnert CA, Gammon WL, et al. The Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE) Standards of Best Practice (SOBP). Advances in Simulation, 2017.
  3. Association of American Medical Colleges. Core EPAs for Entering Residency: EPA 1 Toolkit, Gather a History and Perform a Physical Examination. AAMC, 2017.
  4. Stanford Medicine MD Program. 5.5: Standardized Patient Teaching and Assessment Activities. Stanford University School of Medicine, 2026.
  5. National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. ALS Psychomotor Examination Discontinued. NREMT, 2023.
  6. National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. The Updated EMR and EMT Certification Examinations. NREMT, 2025.
  7. Avraham R, Cohen T, Artzi-Medvedik R, Hurvitz N, Cohen O. Effectiveness of a virtual program for OSCE preparation during COVID-19: a descriptive and repeated cross-sectional study among nursing students. BMC Nursing, 2023.
  8. Neuwirt H, Eder IE, Gauckler P, et al. Impact of familiarity with the format of the exam on performance in the OSCE of undergraduate medical students: an interventional study. BMC Medical Education, 2024.
  9. Ibrahim OR, McCall N, Bekele A, et al. Agreement and reliability of global rating versus checklist scores in a high-stakes undergraduate OSCE in Rwanda. BMC Medical Education, 2026.