A contingency register is a table the coordinator keeps next to the run-sheet. Each row is one thing that can go wrong. It gives the first responder, the person who decides, and what the incident log records. The AMEE guide on OSCE organization lists five: a simulated patient who drifts, equipment that fails, a lost candidate, removed instructions, and removed mark sheets. The rows below add the people-and-safety incidents. Those are the ones that end up before an appeals panel.
Why decide in advance?
An incident on the day has two costs. The first is the minutes it takes. The second is a decision made in a corridor by whoever is nearest, without the rules to hand. A register removes the second cost. The decision was made in a meeting, and the assessment lead signed it. The regulations page is where the school's rules for it live.
Six logistics failures account for most ruined circuits. A station overruns. Parallel circuits drift apart. An examiner does not arrive. A candidate arrives late. Candidates finish unassessed. Patients tire. The run-sheet's counts catch the last two. The rest are timing, and the floor manager owns them. This page covers incidents involving a person, a device, or a station's integrity.
The register
Incident | First response | Who decides | What the log records |
|---|---|---|---|
Simulated patient drifts from the script | The trainer watches one encounter, corrects between candidates, replaces from reserve if drift continues | SP coordinator | Station, time, candidates seen before and after the correction |
Simulated patient unwell | Reserve steps in; if none, the station runs with the trainer in role or is withdrawn for the rest of the session | SP coordinator, then assessment lead | Station, candidates affected, whether the station was withdrawn |
Equipment fails | Spare from the room; if none, the floor manager brings the spare set; the station pauses one rotation at most | Floor manager | Station, rotation, minutes lost, candidates affected |
Examiner absent or leaves | Briefed reserve takes the station; the change is marked on every sheet from that point | Coordinator | Station, time of the change, both examiners' names |
Candidate unwell or distressed | The examiner stops the encounter; a marshal takes the candidate out; first aid if needed; the candidate does not return to the circuit that day | Assessment lead | Time, station reached, what the candidate said, the decision on a later sitting |
Candidate behaves dangerously in a station | The examiner stops the encounter, protects the patient, and reports at once | Assessment lead | Station, what happened, the examiner's written account within the hour |
Candidate raises a concern mid-circuit | Logged by the marshal; the candidate continues; the concern is reviewed after the session | Coordinator, then assessment lead | Time, the concern in the candidate's words, the review outcome |
Candidate lost or at the wrong station | Marshal returns them to the correct station; the missed station is taken at the end of the lap in the rest slot | Floor manager | Candidate, stations affected, the order finally taken |
Instructions or mark sheets removed from a station | Replaced from the sealed spare pack; a count at the next changeover; the room checked | Floor manager | Station, what was missing, the count result |
Devices or network fail | Sealed paper pack opened at the affected stations; scores typed in and checked afterward | Floor manager | Stations, time, number of candidates scored on paper |
Fire alarm or evacuation | The clock stops; candidates leave in circuit groups with their marshals; cohorts kept apart outside | Assessment lead | Time out, time back, the resume-or-abandon decision |
A station found faulty during the session | The station runs to the end of the session as written; the exam board decides whether to withdraw it | Assessment lead, then exam board | Station, the fault, when it was found, who reported it |
Three rows deserve a note. A candidate who stops mid-circuit does not return that day. A candidate who saw six stations, left, and came back for the rest has sat a different exam from everyone else. The decision on a later sitting belongs to the rules, not to the corridor.
A faulty station is not fixed mid-session. Fixing it for the afternoon cohort means the two cohorts sat different stations. The usual answer is to withdraw the station from the calculation for everyone. The scoring section covers that.
An evacuation has a rule agreed in advance. Most schools resume if the break is of fixed duration and the cohorts stay apart. If not, they abandon the session. Abandon means the candidates sit again, with new stations, and the log says why.
Dangerous behavior
The AMEE guide's examiner training outcomes include the procedure for dangerous behavior. A candidate who would harm a real patient by what they did in the station is stopped. The examiner protects the simulated patient first. Then they write an account before leaving the building. Whether the exam is failed on that station alone is a policy question. The critical errors page covers it. The log holds the account either way.
The log as evidence
Every row ends in the log because the log is what an appeal reads. A candidate may claim their station was disrupted, their examiner changed, or their patient tired. The log says whether they are right. A log with the time, the station and the decision closes the appeal in a sentence. A log with nothing in it loses it. The coordinator and the assessment lead sign the log at close-down. The run-sheet places that signature.
Frequently asked questions
What should an OSCE contingency plan contain?
A table of incidents with the first responder, the person who decides, and what the log records. Include patient drift, equipment failure, an absent examiner, an unwell candidate, dangerous behavior, device failure and evacuation. The assessment lead signs it before the day.
What happens if a candidate becomes unwell during an OSCE?
The examiner stops the encounter, and a marshal takes the candidate out. First aid if needed. The candidate does not return to the circuit that day. The log records the time and the station reached. The regulations decide on a later sitting.
What if an OSCE examiner does not turn up?
A briefed reserve takes the station. Every sheet from that point is marked with the change. The log records the time and both names, so the analysis can later compare the two examiners.
What if a simulated patient drifts from the script?
The trainer watches one encounter and corrects between candidates. If drift continues, a reserve takes over. The log records which candidates were seen before and after the change.
Should a faulty OSCE station be fixed during the exam?
No. Fixing it for a later cohort means two cohorts sat different stations. It runs to the end of the session as written. The exam board decides whether to withdraw it from scoring for everyone.