Scoring an OSCE station in the examiner app

One station, one screen, nothing else

StudyDrome Exam Manager gives each OSCE examiner a dedicated scoring screen for one station at one event. It has no left menu and no chrome. The checklist, the scoring scale, the Global Rating and the comment box are all that show. It supports three examiner roles, and it is resilient to connection drops mid-station.

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How does an examiner score a station?

  1. 1
    The examiner signs in and opens Exams. Their station shows in the list with an Assess action on the row.
  2. 2
    Assess opens the station for one published exam at one event. The screen drops the app shell, so nothing surrounds the checklist.
  3. 3
    The checklist renders in order, as scorable items and section headers. Each item carries the scoring scale configured for it.
  4. 4
    Critical items print their own rule in place, in the examiner's words: "Critical: Fail if ≤ 3".
  5. 5
    The examiner records a Global Rating and a global comment for the candidate in front of them.
  6. 6
    Next Candidate moves on. Review opens a summary of every candidate allocated to that station.

What does an examiner see during a station?

A five-minute station is a short window. The screen is built for it, and it shows the marking and nothing else.

  • No shell: The screen sits outside the teacher app layout. There is no left menu and no surrounding chrome.
  • The checklist: Ordered scorable items and section headers, each with the scoring scale set for it.
  • Critical items: The failure rule is printed on the item itself, so the examiner never has to recall it.
  • Global Rating and comment: One rating and one comment for the candidate, captured on the same screen as the checklist.
  • Station media: Images open in a lightbox at full size, without leaving the station.
  • Three roles: Examiner, Simulated Patient and Observer are separate roles on the circuit.
  • A browser, not a download: The examiner app opens in a browser on the tablet or laptop an examiner already carries.

Which on-screen controls does an examiner use?

Every control is named on screen, in plain words. An examiner briefed once can work the station.

Control

What it does

Assess

The row action that opens a station from the Exams list. A station already marked reads Assessed.

Previous Candidate / Next Candidate

Explicit moves through the candidates allocated to that station.

Clear Score

Takes a score back off an item so it can be entered again.

Save Comment

Stores the global comment. It reads Saving... while the save is in flight.

Review

Opens the review screen, listing every candidate allocated to the station.

Back

Leaves the station. The dialog is titled Leave Examination?

An exam can require the global comment, and it can set a minimum length for it. The examiner sees "Comment is required" until they write one. A comment that is too short names the minimum it needs.

The leave dialog says the thing an examiner needs to hear: "Your progress has been saved. You can continue the examination later."

What happens if the connection drops mid-station?

The examiner app is resilient to connection drops mid-station. Every scoring action that cannot reach the server is held in browser storage, keyed to that examiner's session. Duplicates are removed. When the network recovers, the queue replays on its own.

A banner stays on screen while anything is waiting. It counts the work: "1 unsaved change pending sync", or "3 unsaved changes pending sync". The examiner can also retry by hand from that banner.

The app is honest when storage itself is the problem. It says "Unable to save locally. This change may be lost if you refresh the page." A sync that only partly lands says "Some changes could not be synced. Will retry automatically."

Leaving the station mid-drop gets its own message: "You have unsaved changes that haven't been synced to the server yet. They are saved locally and will sync when you return."

That is the guarantee worth having. An examiner never loses a station's marking to a dropout. For the candidate side of the same problem, read what happens when you lose internet during an online exam.

How does an examiner finish and hand back a station?

Finishing is the moment scores become the record. The app treats it as a decision, not a button.

  • Review lists every candidate the examiner was allocated. View Candidate jumps straight back into any of them.
  • Finish Exam asks first. The dialog is titled "Finish Exam?" and states the consequence: scores will be finalized and cannot then be changed.
  • If some candidates were never assessed, the confirmation says exactly how many will be left unassessed.
  • Finishing is blocked while anything is still pending sync: "Cannot finish exam while there are unsaved changes. Please check your connection."
  • That block is checked at every path to finish, so a circuit is never closed on marks that live on one tablet only.
  • If a candidate cannot be finished, the app names that candidate rather than failing quietly.

How is a completed station protected?

  • Finishing a station is a deliberate, confirmed act. The examiner reads the consequence before agreeing to it.
  • Reopening a finished station is a manager action, so a completed score is not quietly altered.
  • A manager sees every station session for the active publication in one of four states: Not Started, Active, Paused or Completed.
  • The reopen confirmation states what will happen, and the success message confirms the examiner can resume grading.
  • Reopening restores all of that session's completed assessments at once, so the examiner picks up the whole station.
  • Marking is held locally and replayed by the app, so the record on the server is the one the examiner entered.
  • The examiner app is the responsive web app. It opens in a browser, on the device an examiner already uses.

Who is the OSCE examiner app for?

The screen is written for the person standing at the door of a station.

  • Clinicians examining for a morning, who want the checklist in front of them and nothing else.
  • Simulated patients and observers, who hold their own named role on the circuit.
  • Exam offices running circuits in buildings where the wifi is uneven.
  • Assessment leads who need every station closed on synced marks before results go out.
  • Medical schools training new examiners, where a plain screen makes for a shorter briefing.

Frequently asked questions

Is the OSCE examiner app resilient to connection drops mid-station?

Yes. Every scoring action that cannot reach the server is held in browser storage, keyed to that examiner's session, and deduplicated. It replays automatically when the network returns. A banner counts what is waiting and offers a manual retry. Finishing is blocked while anything is pending, so a station is never closed on marks that exist on one tablet only.

What does an examiner see during a station?

The station's checklist, in order, with section headers and the scoring scale set for each item. Critical items print their own failure rule. A Global Rating and a comment box sit on the same screen. Station images open in a lightbox. There is no left menu and no app chrome, so nothing competes with the marking.

How does an examiner move between candidates?

With explicit Previous Candidate and Next Candidate controls, one candidate at a time. Nobody hunts through a long list for the right person. Review lists every candidate allocated to that station, and View Candidate jumps back into any of them. Back leaves the station, and the app confirms that progress is already saved.

Can a score be changed after an examiner finishes a station?

Finishing is a confirmed act, and the dialog says scores will be finalized. Reopening a finished station is a manager action, so a completed score is not quietly altered. A manager sees each station session as Not Started, Active, Paused or Completed. Reopening restores all of that session's assessments together, and the examiner resumes grading.

What do examiners need on exam day?

A browser, on the tablet or laptop they already carry. They sign in, open Exams, and use the Assess action on their station row. The screen is built for a five-minute station: one candidate, one checklist, one Global Rating, and named controls to move on. Station media opens in place, at full size.

Can we require a comment on every candidate?

Yes. An exam can require the global comment, and it can set a minimum length for it. The examiner sees "Comment is required" until one is written, and a message naming the minimum if the comment is too short. Save Comment stores it, and reads "Saving..." while the save is in flight.

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Bring one station set. We will put an examiner on a tablet, pull the network mid-station, and show you the marking replay when it comes back.

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