What are the skills stations in the NMC OSCE?
The nursing OSCE, Part 2 of the NMC Test of Competence, has ten stations. Four are the linked APIE stations (assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation). Four are clinical skills stations delivered as two linked pairs. The final two are usually written: one on professional values and behaviours, and one on evidence-based practice. This guide covers the six stations outside APIE.
The skills stations test transferable abilities such as communication, manual dexterity, infection prevention and accurate recording, set in different patient scenarios. Which skills you might meet depends on your field (adult, children's, mental health, learning disabilities or midwifery).
| Type of skill | Examples that have appeared in NMC adult nursing materials |
|---|---|
| Emergency care | In-hospital resuscitation (without defibrillation) |
| Medicines | Intramuscular and subcutaneous injections, inhaled medication, IV flush with cannula site assessment |
| Measurement and monitoring | Blood glucose, peak expiratory flow, fluid balance, urinalysis, pain assessment |
| Infection prevention and wound care | Wound assessment with aseptic non-touch technique, catheter specimen of urine, removing a urinary catheter |
| Skin and pre-operative care | Pressure area assessment; anti-embolism stockings and a pre-operative check were added for adult exams from February 2026 |
Is there a framework that works for every skills station?
Yes, and it is the single most useful thing to practise. Most marks come from the same core behaviours whatever the skill. Examiners can only mark what they see and hear, so say each step aloud.
- Read the task: Note exactly what you are asked to do, and what you are not.
- Prepare: Clean your hands. Gather and check equipment, including expiry dates and packaging. Check any prescription or care plan.
- Identify: Introduce yourself. Ask the patient's full name and date of birth and check against the wristband and documents.
- Explain and consent: Explain in plain words what you will do, why, and what they will feel. Check allergies (latex, plasters, cleaning solutions, medicines). Invite questions and gain consent.
- Privacy and dignity: Close curtains, offer a chaperone where appropriate, expose only what is needed.
- Infection prevention: Hand hygiene at the right moments, PPE suited to the task, aseptic non-touch technique where needed.
- Perform the skill: Follow the correct sequence and check the patient's comfort as you go.
- Aftercare and waste: Make the patient comfortable with the call bell in reach. Sharps straight into a sharps bin at the point of use, clinical waste in the right bin, then clean your hands.
- Interpret and document: Record what you did and found, sign, date and time it, and say what any abnormal result means and who you would tell.
How do I prepare for the resuscitation station?
In-hospital resuscitation is one of the most important skills tested. Follow the current Resuscitation Council UK guidelines (updated in October 2025) and the NMC marking criteria for your field. Children's nursing has its own basic life support station. The outline below is for adults and is educational only; it does not replace accredited hands-on training.
- Safety and response: Check the area is safe and put on gloves if available. Gently shake the shoulders and ask loudly if the patient is all right.
- Shout for help: If there is no response, call nearby staff.
- Airway and breathing: Lie the patient flat, open the airway with head tilt and chin lift, and look, listen and feel for normal breathing for no more than ten seconds. Occasional gasps are not normal breathing.
- Call the resuscitation team: Ask a colleague to call the hospital emergency number (usually 2222) stating adult cardiac arrest and location, and to bring the resuscitation trolley and defibrillator.
- Chest compressions: Thirty compressions in the centre of the chest, lower half of the sternum, 5 to 6 cm deep at 100 to 120 per minute, allowing full recoil. Minimise interruptions.
- Ventilations: Two breaths with a pocket mask or bag-valve-mask, each about one second, making the chest rise. Continue at 30 to 2.
- Continue and hand over: Swap compressors about every two minutes and hand over clearly when the team arrives.
How do I pass injection and ANTT stations?
Intramuscular and subcutaneous injections
- Check the prescription is valid and signed: patient, allergies, drug, dose, route, time. Check the medicine and expiry date.
- Prepare with clean hands, following local glove policy, and use the correct needle.
- Identify the patient, confirm allergies, explain and gain consent.
- Choose and assess the site; check the skin is intact and free of bruising or infection.
- For IM, insert at 90 degrees, inject slowly, withdraw and apply gentle pressure without massaging. For subcutaneous injections, follow the product guidance on pinching and angle, and rotate sites.
- Never re-sheath. Dispose of the sharp immediately, sign the chart, record the site and watch for reactions.
- For insulin, use the pen or device provided and write 'units' in full.
Aseptic non-touch technique (ANTT)
ANTT protects key parts (such as a syringe tip or the inside of a dressing) and key sites (such as a wound or cannula site) from contamination, by never touching them and by working within an aseptic field. The NMC changed its ANTT marking criteria across several fields, so check the current version.
Takes off the old dressing, puts on a new one, says 'All done', and writes 'dressing changed'.
Cleans hands and tray, checks the wound chart, identifies the patient, explains, gains consent and asks about pain. Removes the old dressing with gloves and notes the exudate. Changes gloves after hand hygiene. Assesses the wound aloud: site, size, wound bed, exudate, edges, surrounding skin, odour, signs of infection. Cleans if indicated without touching key parts, applies the new dressing without touching the wound side, disposes of waste, cleans hands, and documents findings, changes since last time and the next review date, escalating any signs of infection.
Fluid balance, blood glucose and peak flow: what catches people out?
| Skill | Key steps | Common mistakes |
|---|---|---|
| Fluid balance | Record each intake and output with time and volume, total each column, calculate the balance and say what it means | Arithmetic slips, missing IV medicines as intake, not escalating low urine output |
| Blood glucose | Check the meter's quality control, identify, consent, use the side of the fingertip, record and act on the result against targets | Not checking the meter, using the finger pad, not responding to a low or high reading |
| Peak flow | Reset the meter, patient upright, deep breath, tight seal, short hard blow; three attempts, record the best and compare with the patient's best or predicted | Not resetting, recording the average, poor explanation |
| Urinalysis | Check strip expiry, dip briefly, remove excess, read at the stated times against the chart, document | Reading at the wrong time, not escalating abnormal results |
How do I answer the professional values and evidence-based practice stations?
These are usually written. You read a scenario or research summary and write your answer, often in bullet points. Handwriting and clarity matter because the examiner must be able to read it. Recent adult professional values topics have included a deteriorating patient and protecting patients' private details; children's nursing has included recognising professional burnout.
On a night shift you see a colleague take a box of a controlled drug from the cupboard and put it in his bag. He says he will bring it back tomorrow and asks you not to tell anyone.
I would tell him it is wrong. If he brings it back I won't report it because he is my friend.
Immediate action: I cannot keep this secret; patient and public safety come first. I would not confront him in a way that puts anyone at risk. Who I would inform: the nurse in charge or most senior person on duty straight away, following local controlled drugs policy, which may involve the controlled drugs accountable officer. Documentation: a factual account and an incident report. Patient safety: check no patient has missed prescribed medicines. Wellbeing: this may mean he needs support, which I would mention when escalating. Standards: the Code themes Preserve safety and Promote professionalism and trust, including the duty to raise concerns.
Evidence-based practice station
You get a short research summary and a patient scenario. Use four headings: what the evidence says; how strong or limited it seems; how it applies to this patient; and your recommendation, including risks, benefits and respecting the patient's choice. Write in plain language, as if explaining to the patient.
How should I practise, and what about the day itself?
Efua had five years' experience in a large hospital abroad. She performed skills quickly and correctly, but her study partner noticed she rarely spoke to the patient, did not say when she cleaned her hands and forgot to dispose of sharps straight away. In a mock OSCE she lost marks on communication, infection prevention and safety. She wrote the safe framework on a card, practised every skill with it while speaking aloud, recorded herself against the marking criteria for her field, and practised with the equipment on the NMC list, as some UK equipment differed from what she knew. Within three weeks her performance was consistent.
- Follow the test centre's instructions on uniform, nails and jewellery. Bare below the elbows is standard in UK clinical areas.
- Bring exactly the identification required.
- Read every instruction before starting each station.
- If you make a mistake, say so and correct it safely, as you would in practice.
- Treat each station as a fresh start. One hard station does not mean you have failed.
You must pass every station, and if you fail you resit only those stations. NHS Employers guidance allows up to three OSCE sittings in one application, with at least 10 working days before a resit. Check current rules and fees with the NMC and your test centre.
Further help
Our course NMC OSCE Preparation: Skills Stations walks through the safe framework, resuscitation, injections, ANTT, measurement skills and the written stations, with examples of what to say. NMC Registration for Internationally Educated Nurses explains the full route, and NMC CBT Preparation (Test of Competence Part 1) covers the computer-based test. Preparation improves confidence and performance, but no course can promise a result.
Frequently asked questions
Which skills are tested in the NMC OSCE?
It depends on your field and changes over time. Adult materials have included resuscitation, injections, blood glucose, peak flow, fluid balance, urinalysis, wound care with ANTT, catheter care, pressure area assessment, and from 2026 anti-embolism stockings and a pre-operative check. Download the current marking criteria for your field from the NMC website for the definitive list.
Do I know in advance which skills stations I will get?
No. You know the pool of possible stations for your field from the NMC's published marking criteria, but not which ones you will be given on the day. That is why a consistent safe framework, practised across every skill on the list, is more reliable than learning a few stations in detail.
Is CPR tested in the NMC OSCE?
Yes, in-hospital resuscitation has been a regular station, and children's nursing has a basic life support station. Follow current Resuscitation Council UK guidelines and the NMC marking criteria for your field. Practise on a manikin with feedback, and remember that reading about CPR does not replace accredited hands-on training.
Are the professional values and evidence-based practice stations written?
Usually, yes. You read a scenario or a short research summary and write your response, often as bullet points under clear headings. Legible handwriting matters. Some fields have actor-led stations instead; for example, the mental health de-escalation station became a simulated scenario in late 2024. Check your field's materials.
What is the most common reason nurses fail OSCE skills stations?
Usually not the technique itself, but missed core behaviours: not identifying the patient, not gaining consent, forgetting hand hygiene, poor sharps disposal, silent performance the examiner cannot mark, and not interpreting or escalating a result. Building these into a habit you say aloud fixes most of them.
Can I correct a mistake during an OSCE station?
Yes. If you notice an error, say so and correct it safely, as you would in real practice. Examiners look for safe behaviour, and recognising and fixing a mistake is part of that. Do not ignore it and hope it was missed. Serious safety failures, such as a sharps injury risk, may still lose the station.
Do I need to bring my own equipment to the OSCE?
No, the test centre provides equipment. Study the NMC equipment list for your field so nothing is unfamiliar, because UK devices such as insulin pens, giving sets and dressings may differ from those you used before. Follow the test centre's instructions on uniform and identification.
Related courses
NMC OSCE Preparation: Skills Stations
This course prepares internationally educated nurses for the skills, professional values and evidence-based practice stations of the NMC OSCE. It…
NMC Registration for Internationally Educated Nurses
This course walks internationally educated nurses and midwives through each stage of joining the NMC register, from checking you are ready to…
NMC CBT Preparation (Test of Competence Part 1)
This course prepares internationally educated nurses for Part 1 of the NMC Test of Competence, the computer-based test. It explains the structure of…
Sources and further reading
- Test of Competence 2021: updates to the OSCE and accompanying materials. Nursing and Midwifery Council.
- OSCE marking criteria, equipment lists and supporting documents (by field). Nursing and Midwifery Council.
- Resuscitation Guidelines 2025: Adult basic life support and in-hospital resuscitation. Resuscitation Council UK.
- National infection prevention and control manual for England. NHS England.
- Recruitment of overseas nurses and midwives: OSCE information. NHS Employers.
- The Code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates. Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Practitioner Insight is an independent education provider. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the GMC, MPTS, NMC, HCPC, GPhC or any NHS organisation, and this information is not legal advice. If you have been referred to a regulator, speak to your defence organisation, trade union or legal representative.
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