ABSTRACT
Physical examination stations are designed to objectively assess your ability to undertake a structured physical examination of a patient presenting with one or more common medical complaints. Physical examination OSCEs may sometimes be linked to an OSCE history taking scenario or alternatively they may be designed as discrete stations. In a physical examination station which is not linked to a history taking station you will normally be given a brief history scenario complaint, which should help you establish the selected physical examination you will need to complete. An example of a brief history scenario would be: ‘This 38-year-old patient has come to see you today because they have had a productive cough, with green coloured phlegm for 4 days’. This scenario should prompt you to conduct a respiratory tract examination. You may wish to clarify or verify the patient’s brief history, but you should not do this at the expense of conducting the requisite physical examination. While focused history taking helps to identify possible differential diagnoses for a patient’s presenting problem, structured physical examination of a patient is used to help either refute or support a tentative differential diagnosis. As with history taking stations it is possible that at the end of your examination you may be asked to give a list of possible differential diagnoses relevant to the OSCE scenario.
