An OSCE exam day runs on one document: the coordinator's run-sheet. It lists every task from the moment the site opens until the last room is reset, with a time and an owner for each. The AMEE guide on OSCE organization gives the tasks. The run-sheet puts them in order so that, in the morning, nobody has to remember anything.
What does the run-sheet cover?
The sheet has four parts: set-up, the first session, each changeover, and close-down. Every line has a clock time, a task, and one named owner. The owners are few. The coordinator runs the sheet. A floor manager runs the circuit. Marshals move the candidates. The simulated patient coordinator runs the patients. The assessment lead decides anything the sheet does not cover.
The table below is a worked sheet for a morning session with a first bell at 08:30. Change the times to fit the day; keep the order.
Time | Task | Owner |
|---|---|---|
06:30 | Site opened. Rooms unlocked, heating and lighting on, signage from the entrance to every room checked. | Coordinator |
06:45 | Every station set up against its equipment list, spares placed, doorway sheets posted, room numbers checked against the station list. | Floor manager |
07:00 | Simulated patients arrive, sign in, go to costume and moulage. Reserves confirmed present. | SP coordinator |
07:15 | Examiners arrive, sign in, collect station packs and mark sheets. Reserves confirmed present. Absences reported to the coordinator at once. | Coordinator |
07:30 | Candidates arrive, register against the candidate list, hand in phones and devices, and go to the holding room. Late arrivals logged. | Marshals |
07:45 | Simulated patient briefing: the role limits and the drift check, 15 minutes. | SP coordinator |
08:00 | Examiner briefing: 30 minutes, to the briefing script. Examiners then walk to their stations. | Assessment lead |
08:00 | Candidate briefing in the holding room: the rules, the bell sequence, pilot stations declared. | Coordinator |
08:15 | Go/no-go check (the checklist below). Any missing station, examiner, or patient is resolved, or the start is delayed. | Coordinator |
08:20 | Candidates walked to their start stations in circuit order. Rest station occupied. | Marshals |
08:30 | First bell. The floor manager starts the clock and stays on the circuit for the whole session. | Floor manager |
Every rotation | Marshals count candidates as they move and report any gaps to the floor manager. The bell sequence repeats: enter, warning, leave. | Marshals |
Last bell | Candidates walked straight to quarantine. No contact with the next cohort. Devices stay with the office. | Marshals |
Changeover | Mark sheets counted in per station and checked against the candidate list. Examiners and patients break. Rooms reset and spares replaced. | Floor manager |
Next cohort | The later cohort registers before the earlier cohort is released from quarantine. Briefings repeat. | Coordinator |
Close-down | All mark sheets, doorway sheets and station instructions collected and counted. Incident log signed. Staff thanked and released. Rooms reset. | Coordinator |
The changeover lines matter most. A session that starts late loses the time from the break, and a cut break produces tired examiners and drifting patients. Plan the changeover at 30 minutes and protect it.
Who owns each line?
One owner per line, and never the same person for two lines at the same time. The coordinator cannot brief candidates and check stations at 08:00. In the sheet above, the assessment lead takes the examiner briefing so that the coordinator can take the candidates. Where the school has only two staff, the sheet has to move a task, not share it.
The AMEE guide's list of administrative tasks includes allocation of candidates to sites, transport instructions, paperwork, and the selection of simulated patients and examiners with reserves. Those happen before the day and belong to the planning section. The run-sheet assumes they are done. Its job starts when the doors open.
What is checked before the first bell?
The go/no-go check is the sheet's one hard gate. It runs at a fixed time, and the answer is either "start" or "delay". A delayed start with everything in place is better than an on-time start with a station missing.
What happens at every changeover?
The mark-sheet count is the one task that cannot slip. Each station's sheets are counted in and matched to the candidates who passed through it. A missing sheet is found before the examiner leaves the building, not at the exam board. Where marking is electronic, the count is a screen the coordinator checks; the marking page covers what the data say about missed ratings on paper.
The rest of the changeover is people. Simulated patients rest and eat. Examiners are asked, in one sentence, whether anything happened that the log should hold. Rooms are reset to the equipment list, and any spare that was used is replaced. The later cohort is already on site. The security page sets out the quarantine rule and its timing.
What happens after the last bell?
Close-down is the audit trail. Every mark sheet, doorway sheet and set of station instructions comes back to the office and is counted against what went out. The AMEE guide's troubleshooting list includes removed instructions and removed mark sheets, and the count is determined on the day rather than a week later. The incident log is signed by the coordinator and the assessment lead. Staff are thanked, and reserves who did nothing are thanked as well, because they will be asked again.
Limits
A run-sheet is written for a single venue and circuit. A second site on the same day requires its own sheet and coordinator. Multi-session and multi-day days add allocation and comparability questions, which the circuit planning page covers. And the sheet cannot decide what to do when something breaks. That is the contingency register, which sits next to the sheet on the coordinator's desk.
Frequently asked questions
What should an OSCE exam day checklist contain?
A timed list of tasks, each with one owner: site setup, staff arrival, the briefings, the go/no-go check, the first bell, counts at each rotation, the changeover, quarantine, and close-down. The AMEE guide on OSCE organization gives the tasks. The sheet puts them in clock order.
How early should staff arrive on OSCE exam day?
Simulated patients about 90 minutes before the first bell, to allow for costume and a short briefing. Examiners about 75 minutes before, for registration and a 30-minute briefing. Candidates about 60 minutes before, for registration, device hand-in and their own briefing.
Who runs an OSCE on the day?
The coordinator runs the sheet. A floor manager runs the circuit and the clock. Marshals move and count candidates. The simulated patient coordinator runs the patients. The assessment lead makes any decision the sheet does not cover.
What is a go/no-go check?
A fixed check about 15 minutes before the first bell. It confirms that every station has its examiner, patient, equipment, sheets, and doorway brief, and that candidates are registered and devices are in. If anything is missing, the start is delayed until it is fixed.
What is collected at the end of an OSCE?
Every mark sheet, doorway sheet, and station instruction was counted against what went out. The incident log was signed. With electronic marking the count is a screen, but the paper on the doors still comes down and is counted.