As per the recent NILE announcement related to the current Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), new scenarios and skills will be introduced. These Changes on the Test of Competence (ToC) will be from Monday 14th June.
Listed below are “the new materials that will be introduced to the current tests from the 14th of June.”
- Adult nursing scenario (APIE): Fall and fracture
- Children’s nursing scenario (APIE): Post-tonsillectomy bleed
- Midwifery scenario (APIE): Post-natal visit
- Adult nursing skill station: Fine bore nasogastric tube insertion
- Adult nursing skill station: Visual infusion phlebitis (VIP) assessment and intravenous cannula flush
- Adult nursing skill station: Pressure ulcer assessment
In response to queries, a further announcement was released clarifying the following information:
1. There is no change to the timings or marking criteria for the Children, Adult, and Midwifery scenarios (APIE). A copy of the marking criteria for APIE for each field of practice is available on the website/online learning platform at all three Competence Test Centres.
2. The marking criteria for the new adult nursing skills: Insertion of fine bore nasogastric tube, pressure area assessment, visual infusion phlebitis (VIP) assessment, and intravenous cannula flush (all 8 minute’s duration) can be found in the updated Adult Nursing Marking Criteria version 1.13. This is available on each centre’s website/online learning platform.
3. A copy of the Braden scale and a copy of the VIP assessment tool are available in the supporting documentation
4. The pressure area assessment skill is a written station.
Please note these are new OSCE stations for the current Test of Competence and not the new Test of Competence that will go live in August 2021. Therefore, some applicants will still be able to continue taking the current OSCE for a set period of time after the new test has gone live, hence the refresh is for “general test maintenance purposes”.
For further information around the transitional arrangements when the new test goes live, please visit the NMC Website.
In order to help candidates to prepare for these changes on the Test of Competence, all test centres have updated the marking criteria, the candidate information booklet, and OSCE support materials for these new exams.
Also, updates have been made on the test supporting materials to the following areas:
- “Adult nursing marking criteria: – to include marking criteria for the three new skills stations
- Candidate information booklet: – to include information about the three new skills stations”
However, “the existing Test of Competence (ToC) will continue to be used for some time to allow candidates who have started their assessment under that route to complete their test.”
Accordingly, two new forms are available in the document’s sections on the test centre websites.
Nevertheless, “The pressure ulcer assessment marking criteria does not follow the evidence set out in the Royal Marsden. For this station, you should refer to the evidence base given here: Healthcare Improvement Scotland. (2019). Braden Risk Assessment chart. Retrieved January 2021.” http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/programmes/patient_safety/tissue_viability_resources/braden_risk_assessment_tool.aspx
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