AMC Clinical OSCE Station Examples: What to Expect at Each Station Type

The AMC Clinical OSCE consists of 16 assessed stations and 4 rest stations, each lasting 2 minutes of reading time plus 8 minutes of performance time. To pass, you must achieve a satisfactory standard in at least 9 out of 14 scored stations (the pass mark updated in March 2024).

Understanding the different station types — and having a specific strategy for each — is one of the most important preparation steps you can take. This guide walks you through all six station types with detailed sample scenarios, door notes, and approach frameworks.

The exam fee is $3,000 AUD for in-person (at Melbourne's National Testing Centre) or $3,400 AUD for the online format. Each station is scored across the AMC's 13 assessment domains using a 7-point scale.

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1. History Taking Stations (~40% of the Exam)

History taking stations form the backbone of the AMC Clinical OSCE, comprising roughly 40% of all stations. These are manned stations with a trained role player portraying the patient.

Sample Door Note

Setting: General Practice Clinic

Patient: Mr James Mitchell, 55 years old

Presenting Complaint: Chest pain for 2 days

Task: Take a focused history from this patient. You will not be required to examine the patient or discuss management.

Approach Framework

During the 2-Minute Reading Phase

1. Setting: General practice — think about what is available (no CT scanner, basic obs equipment, can arrange urgent transfer if needed)
2. Demographics: 55-year-old male — cardiovascular risk factors immediately come to mind
3. Complaint: Chest pain — broad differential but must rule out life-threatening causes first
4. Task: Focused history only — no examination or management discussion required
5. Mental plan: SOCRATES for pain characterisation, cardiovascular risk factors, red flag screening, ICE

The Consultation

Opening (First 2 minutes): "Good morning, Mr Mitchell. My name is Dr [your name], and I'm one of the doctors here at the clinic today. I understand you've come in because you've been having some chest pain. I'd like to ask you some questions about that so we can work out what might be going on. Is that alright?"

SOCRATES Pain Assessment (Next 3 minutes):

• Site: "Can you show me exactly where you feel the pain?"
• Onset: "When did this first start? What were you doing at the time?"
• Character: "Can you describe what the pain feels like? Is it sharp, dull, aching, or pressure-like?"
• Radiation: "Does the pain go anywhere else — your arm, jaw, neck, or back?"
• Associated symptoms: "Have you had any shortness of breath, nausea, sweating, or dizziness?"
• Time course: "Is it constant or does it come and go? How long does each episode last?"
• Exacerbating/relieving factors: "Does anything make it worse or better? Exercise, rest, deep breathing, eating?"
• Severity: "On a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the worst pain imaginable, how would you rate this?"

Red Flags (1 minute):

• Recent long travel or immobility (PE risk)
• Sudden tearing pain radiating to back (aortic dissection)
• Fever, recent illness (pericarditis, pneumonia)
• History of DVT or PE

Risk Factor Assessment (1 minute):

• Smoking history
• Diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia
• Family history of heart disease (first-degree relative before age 55 for males, 65 for females)
• Previous cardiac investigations or events

ICE and Closure (Final 1 minute):

• "Mr Mitchell, I can see this has been worrying for you. What do you think might be causing this pain?"
• "Is there anything in particular you're concerned about?"
• "What were you hoping we might be able to do for you today?"
• Summarise: "So to make sure I've got this right — you've had central chest pain for 2 days that..."

Key Mistakes to Avoid

• Jumping to examination without completing the history (read the task!)
• Forgetting to ask about medications, allergies, and social history
• Interrogation-style questioning without empathy or rapport
• Not screening for red flags early in the consultation

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2. Counselling Stations

Counselling stations test your ability to communicate difficult information, explain diagnoses, discuss treatment options, or address patient concerns. These require exceptional communication skills and emotional intelligence.

Sample Door Note

Setting: Hospital Outpatient Clinic

Patient: Mrs Sarah Chen, 48 years old

Scenario: Mrs Chen attended for a colonoscopy last week after presenting with rectal bleeding and changes in bowel habit. The histopathology results have returned showing adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid colon. The tumour appears localised. She is here for her follow-up appointment to discuss the results.

Task: Discuss the results with Mrs Chen and outline the next steps in her management.

Approach Framework: SPIKES Protocol

S — Setting: Ensure privacy, sit at the patient's level, have tissues available. "Mrs Chen, thank you for coming in today. I have the results from your colonoscopy, and I'd like to discuss them with you. Is now a good time?"

P — Perception: Explore what the patient already knows. "Before I go through the results, can you tell me what you understand about why we did the colonoscopy?"

I — Invitation: Ask permission to share the information. "I have the results ready. Would you like me to go through them with you now? Would you like anyone else to be here with you?"

K — Knowledge: Deliver the news clearly and compassionately. Use a "warning shot" first. "I'm afraid the results have shown something more serious than we were hoping for. The biopsies from the colonoscopy have found a type of cancer in your bowel called an adenocarcinoma."

Pause. Allow silence. The patient needs time to process.

E — Emotions: Acknowledge and validate the emotional response. "I understand this is very difficult news. It's completely normal to feel shocked and upset. Take your time."

S — Strategy/Summary: Once the patient is ready, discuss next steps. "The encouraging thing is that the tumour appears to be localised, which means it hasn't spread. The next step would be to do some further scans and then discuss your case with the specialist team to plan the best treatment, which would likely involve surgery."

Chunk-and-Check Technique

Deliver information in small pieces, then check understanding before proceeding:

• "So far, we've talked about the diagnosis. Before I go on, do you have any questions about what I've said?"
• After explaining the plan: "I've given you a lot of information. Can you tell me in your own words what you understand so far?"

Teach-Back Method

Ask the patient to repeat key information in their own words:

• "Just so I know I've explained things clearly, could you tell me what you understand about the next steps?"

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3. Examination Stations

Examination stations assess your ability to perform a systematic physical examination, communicate with the patient throughout, and identify clinical findings.

Sample Door Note

Setting: General Practice Clinic

Patient: Mr David Okafor, 62 years old

Scenario: Mr Okafor has presented with progressive shortness of breath over the past 3 months.

Task: Perform a cardiovascular examination on this patient. Report your findings to the examiner.

Systematic Approach

Hand Hygiene: Always begin with hand washing or alcohol gel — and be seen doing it. "I'll just wash my hands before we begin."

Introduction and Consent: "Mr Okafor, I'd like to examine your heart and circulation today. This will involve me looking at your hands, neck, and chest, and listening with my stethoscope. I'll need to ask you to remove your shirt. Is that alright?"

Positioning: "Could you please sit on the bed at about 45 degrees? That's perfect, thank you."

Expose and Drape: Expose the chest but keep the lower body covered. Maintain dignity throughout.

Systematic Cardiovascular Examination:

1. General inspection: "I'm starting by having a general look. I can see the patient appears comfortable at rest, is not in acute distress, and there are no visible scars or deformities on the chest."

2. Hands: "I'm now examining the hands. I'm looking for clubbing... peripheral cyanosis... splinter haemorrhages... Osler nodes or Janeway lesions."

3. Radial pulse: "I'm palpating the radial pulse. It is regular, approximately 76 beats per minute. I'm checking for rate, rhythm, and character."

4. Blood pressure: "I'd like to check the blood pressure." (State the reading)

5. Face and neck: "I'm inspecting the conjunctivae for pallor... the tongue for central cyanosis... Now I'm assessing the JVP. The JVP is/is not elevated."

6. Praecordium:

   • Inspection: scars, visible pulsations
   • Palpation: apex beat location, heaves, thrills
   • Auscultation: all four areas (aortic, pulmonary, tricuspid, mitral) with both bell and diaphragm

7. Additional: "I would also like to auscultate the lung bases for crepitations, check for peripheral oedema, and palpate the liver."

Narrate Findings: "In summary, on cardiovascular examination, I found [findings]. This is consistent with [differential]. I would like to arrange [investigations]."

Key Tips for Examination Stations

• Talk through everything — the examiner cannot assess what they cannot see or hear
• Be gentle — patients (role players) appreciate care and consideration
• Acknowledge normal findings — "The JVP is not elevated" is just as important as reporting abnormalities
• Have a systematic order and never deviate from it, even if you think you know the diagnosis

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4. Data Interpretation Stations (Unmanned)

Data interpretation stations are unmanned — there is no role player present. You are provided with clinical data (blood results, imaging reports, ECGs, or other investigations) and asked to interpret the findings, provide a diagnosis, and outline a management plan.

Sample Door Note

Setting: Emergency Department

Patient: Ms Priya Sharma, 28 years old, Type 1 Diabetes

Presenting Complaint: Nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain for 12 hours. Increasing confusion.

Provided Data:

• pH: 7.18 (normal: 7.35–7.45)
• pCO2: 20 mmHg (normal: 35–45)
• HCO3: 8 mmol/L (normal: 22–26)
• Na: 134 mmol/L | K: 5.8 mmol/L | Cl: 100 mmol/L
• Glucose: 32 mmol/L (normal: 3.5–5.5 fasting)
• Ketones: 6.2 mmol/L (normal: <0.6)
• Anion gap: 26 (normal: 8–16)

Task: Interpret the blood results. Provide your diagnosis and outline your initial management plan.

Systematic Interpretation Framework

Step 1 — Identify the Acid-Base Disturbance:

• pH 7.18 = severe acidaemia
• Low HCO3 (8) = metabolic acidosis
• Low pCO2 (20) = respiratory compensation (Kussmaul breathing)
• Expected pCO2 = 1.5 × HCO3 + 8 = 20 → appropriate compensation

Step 2 — Calculate the Anion Gap:

• Anion gap = Na - (Cl + HCO3) = 134 - (100 + 8) = 26 → elevated (high anion gap metabolic acidosis)

Step 3 — Integrate Clinical Context:

• Type 1 Diabetes + markedly elevated glucose (32) + ketones (6.2) + high anion gap metabolic acidosis
• Diagnosis: Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA)

Step 4 — Classify Severity:

• pH < 7.2, HCO3 < 10, K > 5.5 = Severe DKA

Step 5 — Outline Initial Management:

1. Resuscitation: IV normal saline 1L over first hour, then 1L over 2 hours, then 1L over 4 hours (adjust based on clinical assessment)
2. Insulin: Fixed-rate IV insulin infusion at 0.1 units/kg/hour (do NOT give bolus)
3. Potassium: Despite K being 5.8, potassium will drop rapidly with insulin. Recheck in 1 hour. Replace when K < 5.5
4. Monitoring: Hourly BGL, hourly ketones, 2-hourly VBG, continuous cardiac monitoring (risk of arrhythmia with K changes)
5. Identify trigger: Look for infection (FBC, CRP, blood cultures, urine MCS, CXR), missed insulin doses, new medications
6. Escalation: ICU review if pH < 7.1 or failure to improve after 6 hours
7. Transition: Switch to subcutaneous insulin once eating, drinking, ketones < 0.6, and pH > 7.3. Overlap IV and subcut insulin by 1 hour.

Key Tips for Data Interpretation Stations

• Show your working — write out calculations, not just answers
• Use a systematic framework every time
• Always address both diagnosis AND management
• Reference Australian guidelines (e.g., eTG, local hospital DKA protocols)
• Manage your time — 8 minutes passes quickly when writing

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5. Procedure Stations

Procedure stations assess your ability to obtain informed consent, explain and perform clinical procedures safely, and communicate with the patient throughout.

Sample Door Note

Setting: Hospital Ward

Patient: Mr Brian Thompson, 72 years old

Scenario: Mr Thompson has been admitted with acute urinary retention. He requires insertion of an indwelling urinary catheter. A nurse has set up the catheterisation trolley.

Task: Obtain informed consent and perform urinary catheterisation on this patient (using the mannequin provided). Narrate your technique to the examiner.

Approach Framework

Informed Consent (Rogers v Whitaker standard):

In Australia, the legal standard for informed consent comes from the landmark case Rogers v Whitaker (1992). You must disclose:

• What the procedure involves
• Why it is needed
• Material risks — risks that a reasonable person in the patient's position would want to know
• Alternatives to the procedure
• What happens if we don't do it

"Mr Thompson, we need to put a small tube called a catheter into your bladder to drain the urine that has built up. This is because your bladder isn't emptying on its own at the moment. The tube is flexible and goes in through the opening where you normally pass urine. I'll use a gel that contains local anaesthetic to make it as comfortable as possible.

The main risks I need to tell you about include: some discomfort during insertion, a small risk of urinary tract infection, and very rarely, some minor bleeding or injury to the urethra. The alternative would be to try intermittent catheterisation, but given your current retention, an indwelling catheter is the safest option right now.

Do you have any questions? Are you happy for me to go ahead?"

Procedure Narration:

1. "I'm performing hand hygiene and putting on sterile gloves"
2. "I'm cleaning the urethral meatus using antiseptic solution, working from the centre outward"
3. "I'm now instilling lignocaine gel into the urethra and waiting 3–5 minutes for it to take effect"
4. "I'm inserting the catheter gently, advancing it until urine begins to drain"
5. "Urine is now draining. I'm advancing the catheter a further 2–3 centimetres to ensure it is in the bladder"
6. "I'm now inflating the balloon with 10 mL of sterile water"
7. "I'm gently retracting the catheter until I feel resistance, confirming the balloon is seated at the bladder neck"
8. "I'm connecting the catheter to the drainage bag and securing it to the patient's thigh"
9. "I'm documenting the volume of urine drained, the catheter size used, the balloon volume, and any difficulties encountered"

Post-Procedure Communication: "That's all done, Mr Thompson. The catheter is in and your bladder is draining well. You might feel a slight urge to urinate — that's normal with the catheter in place. We'll keep this in for now and review whether we can remove it in a day or two. If you have any pain or notice the catheter isn't draining, please let the nurse know straight away."

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6. Mixed Stations

Mixed stations are the most challenging, requiring you to combine elements of history taking, examination, and management within a single 8-minute encounter. These stations test clinical efficiency and prioritisation.

Sample Door Note

Setting: Emergency Department

Patient: Ms Aisha Patel, 24 years old

Presenting Complaint: Acute shortness of breath and wheeze for 2 hours

Observations: RR 28, SpO2 91% on room air, HR 112, BP 110/70, Temp 37.2°C

Task: Assess this patient and initiate management. Explain your findings and plan to the patient.

8-Minute Strategy for Mixed Stations

Minutes 0–1: Rapid Assessment + Introduction

• Note the observations provided — this patient has tachypnoea, hypoxia, tachycardia
• "Ms Patel, I'm Dr [name], one of the emergency doctors. I can see you're struggling with your breathing. I'm going to help you. Can you tell me briefly what happened?"

Minutes 1–3: Focused History

• History of asthma? Current medications (salbutamol, preventer)?
• What triggered this episode?
• Can she speak in full sentences? (Severity marker)
• Red flags: fever, chest pain, unilateral signs (pneumothorax)
• Quick medication check: any allergies?

Minutes 3–5: Targeted Examination + Initiate Treatment

• Auscultate the chest: bilateral wheeze, air entry, any silent chest
• "I'm going to start some treatment while I examine you"
• Initiate: high-flow oxygen, salbutamol nebuliser 5mg with ipratropium 500mcg, prednisolone 50mg oral (or hydrocortisone 200mg IV if unable to swallow)
• Continuously reassess: speaking ability, RR, SpO2

Minutes 5–7: Explain and Manage

• "Ms Patel, you're having a severe asthma attack. The medication we're giving you should start to open up your airways. I'm also giving you a steroid to reduce the inflammation."
• Outline the plan: serial nebulisers every 20 minutes, recheck observations, consider IV magnesium sulphate if not responding
• Escalation criteria: "If you're not improving, we may need to involve the intensive care team"

Minutes 7–8: Safety Net and Closure

• "We're going to keep you in the emergency department for observation until your breathing improves"
• "After you're discharged, it's really important to see your GP within a week to review your asthma action plan"
• "Do you have any questions?"

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7. How to Read a Door Note: The 5-Step Strategy

Every station begins with a 2-minute reading period outside the door. This is your chance to plan your approach. Use the same 5-step framework every time:

Step 1: Setting

Where are you? The setting determines your resources, referral options, and management approach.

• GP clinic: Time for thorough assessment, can arrange follow-up, limited acute interventions
• Emergency Department: Acute presentations, investigations immediately available, time-pressured
• Hospital Ward: Inpatient context, multidisciplinary team available, ongoing management
• Outpatient Clinic: Follow-up context, results discussion, specialist referrals

Step 2: Demographics

Age, gender, and any background information. Build a mental picture of the patient and think about the most likely differentials for this demographic.

Step 3: Presenting Complaint

What is the core problem? Start generating your differential diagnosis list immediately.

Step 4: Your Task

Read this twice. The task tells you exactly what is being assessed. "Take a history" is very different from "Take a history and examine" or "Discuss the management plan."

Step 5: Additional Information

Look for cues: observations (suggests acute management needed), emotional descriptors ("anxious mother"), specific phrases ("has been waiting 3 hours"), or provided investigation results.

Write a brief plan on your scrap paper: Opening statement, top 3 differentials, key questions/examinations, and closing plan.

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8. How GdayDoctor Simulates Real Stations

Preparing for the AMC Clinical OSCE requires practising under realistic conditions. GdayDoctor's OSCE platform provides:

53 AI-Powered Clinical Stations

• Covering all six station types described in this guide
• Both manned stations (with AI voice role players) and unmanned stations (data interpretation with written responses)
• Scenarios mapped to the AMC's 13 assessment domains

Practice Mode

• Attempt individual stations at your own pace
• Receive immediate, detailed feedback on each domain
• Repeat stations to improve your technique
• Try a station like Acute Coronary Syndrome to experience the format

Exam Mode

• Full 16-station timed mock exams simulating the real Clinical OSCE
• Strict 2-minute reading + 8-minute performance timing
• Cumulative scoring report across all 13 domains
• Builds the stamina and exam confidence you need

One Free Trial Station

Never used GdayDoctor before? Sign up for free and try one complete OSCE station at no cost. Experience the AI role player, receive domain-by-domain feedback, and see how the platform can accelerate your preparation.

For the full OSCE preparation package, check our subscription options.

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Putting It All Together

The AMC Clinical OSCE tests far more than clinical knowledge. It assesses your ability to:

• Communicate effectively with patients from diverse backgrounds
• Prioritise clinical tasks under time pressure
• Demonstrate safe, patient-centred care at every station
• Apply knowledge within an Australian clinical context

Each of the six station types requires a distinct approach, and the most successful candidates practise each type systematically. Use the sample scenarios in this guide as templates, adapt them to other clinical presentations, and practise under timed conditions.

Remember: you need to pass 9 out of 14 scored stations. You do not need to be perfect — you need to be consistently competent across the majority of stations.

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For a comprehensive overview of the AMC Clinical OSCE format, fees, and eligibility, read our Complete Guide to the AMC Clinical OSCE 2026. Ready to start practising? Explore the OSCE platform or sign up for your free trial station.