24 realistic OSCE decision exercises

Use cases like clinical practice, not trivia

1. Assess the setting: What is the patient's concern? What must be done first?
2. Collect discriminating history: Ask questions that change your differential, not every question you know.
3. Choose urgency: Separate immediate dangers from routine investigation.
4. Communicate with the patient: Describe uncertainty, consent, and alternatives in understandable language.
5. Respect scope: Coordinate assessment and referrals according to your jurisdiction and competence.
6. Respond to change: Explain what you would do when the patient's condition changes in the case-specific challenge.
7. Debrief: Compare your reasoning with the model answer, document gaps, and repeat with a clinical educator.

The cases are original BoardQBank educational scenarios aligned to the handbook topics, not official CANRA examination stations. They are not independently clinically validated. The interactive patient is scripted; checklist completion does not demonstrate real clinical competence.

Case-by-case practical learning map