Pharmacy OSCEs: A revision guide

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Mészáros K, Barnett MJ, McDonald K, Wehring H, Evans DJ, Sasaki-Hill D, et al. Progress examination for assessing students’ readiness for advanced pharmacy practice experiences. Am J Pharm Educ. 2009;73(6):109.

Parks, R; Warren, P M; Boyd, K M; Cameron, H; Cumming, A; Lloyd-Jones, G (2006). "The Objective Structured Clinical Examination and student collusion: Marks do not tell the whole truth". Journal of Medical Ethics. 32 (12): 734–738. doi: 10.1136/jme.2005.015446. PMC 2563344. PMID 17145916. Dress professionally and accordingly to NHS dress code. Looking neat might not give you extra marks, but it does help you make a good first impression. Remember to tie up long hair, roll sleeves up above the elbows and take off your wristwatch.

Krska J, Cromarty J, Arris F, Jamieson D, Hansford D. Providing pharmaceutical care using a systematic approach. The Pharmaceutical Journal. 2000;265:656 – 660. This section forms the foundation of the medication history. There are six key pieces of information you need to obtain about each of the medications the patient is taking – sometimes referred to as ‘ the super six‘. 1. What is the medication? (drug name or characteristics)

If an underlying organic cause of ED is identified and reversible, the probability of curing ED is greatly increased. However, if refractory to various treatment modalities, patients with ED are at increased risk for psychiatric co-morbidities such as anxiety and depression. This may further generate relationship and interpersonal struggles, significantly affecting a patient’s quality of life. Moreover, ED is known to be a risk factor in itself for CV disease, therefore if left untreated, could predispose the patient to greater risks of stroke and coronary artery disease. 3 Prescribing too much medication can lead to dose-dependent side effects, wastage and inappropriate polypharmacy so try to use the smallest dose for the shortest period where possible. Duration In terms of employability, it is also important that the pharmacy student develops the ability to ‘think on their feet’. Being able to make a decision, in a timely manner, which optimises patient care is one of the key skills that employers ask for time and time again. Muneer A, Kalsi J, Nazareth I, Arya M. Erectile dysfunction. BMJ [Internet]. 2014;348(January):1–9. Available from: [LINK]

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Ask the patient what their occupation is: this may be relevant when considering the practicalities of when a patient is going to be able to take their medication. Some jobs involving the operation of heavy machinery or driving may restrict the types of medication a patient is able to take if they want to continue these tasks. Past medical history: previous sexual dysfunction, cardiovascular disease and previous pelvic surgery. The drug is intended to last for roughly 4 hours (if an erection lasts longer than 4 hours, the patient should seek urgent care for risk of priapism)

Khera M. Evaluation of Male Sexual Dysfunction [Internet]. UptoDate. 2019 [cited 2019 Dec 13]. Available from: [LINK]Ask if the patient has any drug allergies and clarify what happens when the patient takes the medication

McCabe MP, Connaughton C. Sexual dysfunction and relationship stress: how does this association vary for men and women? Curr Opin Psychol [Internet]. 2017;13:81–4. Available from: [LINK]This seems like a pretty obvious one but you’ll be surprised how often it gets missed. The pronunciation of drug names varies greatly so you may need to think outside the box when the patient tells you they’re taking a product that you’ve never heard of. Patients might also describe their medication based on colour, size, the shape of the actual formulation or the container (e.g. “The little red ones that come in the big green box”). 2. What is the medication for? (indication) Five station examples, which are representative of the formats for three interactive stations and two non-interactive stations, are found below. Find sources: "Objective structured clinical examination"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( March 2022) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)