Evaluating OSCE assessments in UK advanced practice curricula: insights from educators

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), developed by Harden and Gleeson in the 1970s, was designed to standardise the assessment of medical student performance. The OSCE is the most common assessment method used to assess capability in advanced practice programmes. However, earlier research has indicated that there is limited evidence supporting the effectiveness of OSCEs within advanced practice programmes. In 2023, a multiprofessional collaboration of educators with expertise in advanced practice conducted a national survey to determine the perceived reliability and validity of OSCEs. This article reports findings from this survey and offers critical insights into the challenges and opportunities of using OSCEs for evaluating the capability of advanced practitioners. The article highlights the importance of selecting the most appropriate instruments to determine capability to ensure that assessments are relevant to the role of an advanced practitioner.