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The OSCE will be held in person on Thursday morning of week 8. There are three groups starting at different times. You will be sent out a group list before your OSCE date. Students are NOT expected to attend their allocated unit on the day of the OSCE unless they are scheduled to be on call that day, in which case students should attend their oncall shift at 4PM.
There will be 9 stations.
1 minute to read the station stem.
6 minutes to complete the assigned task.
2 minutes for the examiner to ask follow-up questions.
Stations can include history taking, physical exam, communication and data interpretation. Please bring a stethoscope and a writing utensil. All other necessary equipment will be provided. Please ensure that nails are short for the OSCE. Doing physical exam maneuvers with long nails can cause pain to the simulated patient.
There should not be any talking between stations - talking between stations is a professionalism breach and may be grounds for academic misconduct.
Pass marks will be determined as per standard approaches in the MD program such as the borderline regression method.
If students fail three (3) or more stations, they must resit the OSCE. This is usually scheduled with the next flight providing there are no other required learning plans as determined by the DoM Undergraduate Committee. Exact arrangements about the timing of the repeat OSCE will be communicated after the DoM Undergraduate Committee Meeting.
We only review exam performance in the event of failure or process concerns. To protect the integrity of the OSCE Examination Bank, we do not review OSCE stations or the exam in its entirety when students have passed.
If you require accommodations for exams, please contact Program Administrator at medugme@ualberta.ca to make arrangements.
OSCE DATES: IN PERSON
2025 - 2026
Flight 1 - Thursday, October 9, 2025 - ZLC
Flight 2 - Thursday, December 4, 2025 - ZLC
Flight 3 - Thursday, February 12, 2026 - HSERC
Flight 4 - Thursday, April 9, 2026 - ZLC
Flight 5 - Thursday, June 4, 2026 - ZLC
Flight 6 - Thursday, July 20, 2026 - HSERC
2-263 Dianne and Irving Kipness Health Research Institute (formerly known as ECHA)
2nd Floor, HSERC
3-20 Zeidler Ledcor Centre (ZLC)
3rd Floor, Clinical Training Centre (CTC)
CLINICAL SKILLS THAT MAY BE EXAMINED IN THE OSCE (list not exhaustive):
CARDIOVASCULAR
History taking for chest pain
Congestive heart failure
Cardiac physical exam; JVP
Exam for peripheral arterial sufficiency
How to take a blood pressure
ECG interpretation
Diagnosis and treatment for acute coronary syndromes
PULMONARY
History taking for dyspnea
Clinical assessment of asthma and COPD
Investigations for COPD and Asthma
Clinical assessment of pneumonia
Clinical assessment of pulmonary fibrosis
Clinical assessment of pleural effusion
ENDOCRINOLOGY
History taking for diabetes and its complications
Examination for thyroid disease
Examination for diabetic foot
NEUROLOGY
History taking for confusion
Cranial nerves exam, including assessment of visual acuity/disturbances
Differentiation between upper and lower motor neuron lesions
Examination for focal weakness
Examination for Parkinson’s disease
Assessment of coma
Clinical assessment of meningitis
History taking for headache
GASTROENTEROLOGY
Dysphagia
Examination of the spleen
Liver/gallbladder examination
Extrahepatic stigmata of liver disease
History taking for GI bleed: hematemesis, melena, hematochezia
Interpretation of laboratory findings in anemia
History taking for diarrhea
History taking for abdominal pain
Interpretation of liver enzymes
RHEUMATOLOGY
Examination of joints - i.e., knee, shoulder, back, hands
OTHER
Reading and interpretation of ECGs
Chest x-ray interpretation
Interpretation of arterial blood gases
History taking for anemia
Interpretation of fluid analysis—CSF, ascites, and pleural fluid
History taking for a patient with fever/infection
History taking for bilateral leg edema
Exam for DVT
Fever in the returning traveller
Examination of the lymphatic system
History taking for falls
OSCE Practice Resources:
Bedside Medicine Exam Skills, Stanford Medicine. Bedside Medicine Exam Skills | Stanford Medicine 25 | Stanford Medicine
JAMA Rational Clinical Exam Series. https://jamanetwork.com/collections/6257/the-rational-clinical-examination
Edmonton Manual. edmontonmanual.com
Additional Resources: Year 1& 2 Physical Exam OSCE Checklists
Please note that the scenarios and checklists used in the MED546 OSCE will differ from the year 1 & 2 checklists.
These checklists have been provided as a resource to help in your OSCE preparation.
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