Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE)
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Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE)

COVID-19 vaccination requirements:

To ensure safety of all involved in the delivery of the OSCE, Ahpra and the NMBA require all Ahpra staff, examiners and candidates comply with the requirements set by South Australia (SA) Health and Adelaide Health Simulation (AHS) in relation to COVID-19.

In line with SA Health directions regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, people may only attend the AHS site if they can provide satisfactory evidence that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (double dose) with a Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA) approved vaccine.

Candidates for the OSCE will be required to submit a copy of their COVID-19 vaccination certification to the IQNM Exam Team closer to your booked OSCE date.

Candidates will also need to provide their vaccination certificate at check in on their examination day.

What is the OSCE?

The Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) is a clinical exam to assess the candidate’s knowledge, skills and competence at the graduate-level nurse or midwife from an Australian NMBA-approved program of study.

Stream B candidates – Candidates (who have successfully completed the Orientation Part 1, Portfolio and MCQ exam stages) must pass the OSCE before they are eligible to apply for registration in Australia.

There are separate OSCEs for IQNMs intending to register in Australia as a registered nurse (RN), enrolled nurse (EN), or midwife.

The NMBA does not run preparation programs for the MCQ exams or the OSCEs.

All OSCE candidates should ensure they are well prepared before sitting the exam. This may include revising nursing or midwifery theory and practice and becoming familiar with the format of regulatory OSCEs. The content in Orientation Part 1 contains information about practice in the Australian healthcare context.

It is recommended that candidates read the relevant handbook (soon to be published) and the relevant NMBA standards for practice.

The NMBA and Ahpra currently schedule OSCEs up to five (5) times per year. The NMBA and Ahpra continue to monitor the number of OSCE candidates wishing to sit the OSCEs and will make days available, as able, to meet the demand.

Exam sessions are being planned for the following months:

  • Mid/late September 2022
  • Mid/late November 2022
  • Early February 2023
  • Mid April 2023
  • Mid/late June 2023

Once you have completed all the requirements to be eligible for the OSCE, the IQNM Exam team will contact you when the next exam session is available

No, the OSCE is an in-person clinical assessment held in Adelaide. The OSCE is completed in a clinical simulation environment to ensure that IQNMs can meet the standard of practice expected in Australia. This is a matter of public safety and ensures a rigorous evidence-based assessment of clinical skills

We acknowledge that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the delivery of some components of the OBA pathway, including access to Australia and South Australia, which is controlled by Australian governments.

 

Enrolled nurses

Information for internationally qualified enrolled nurses

Find out more »

Registered nurses

Information for internationally qualified registered nurses

Find out more »

Midwives

Information for internationally qualified midwives

Find out more »
 

For more information regarding Covid-19 Safety during OSCE’s please refer to the below linked document:

IQNM OSCE Exam day Covid-19 Safety  (90.4 KB,PDF) 

 
 
 
Page reviewed 15/11/2021