Lessons learned from developing a very near-peer mOSCE

Objective-Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are a valuable source of assessment for students’ practical clinical and professional skills throughout their medical careers due to the OSCEs’ capability to test multiple competencies in a standardized manner. Over the years, OSCEs have increasingly been integrated across medical programs to assess clinical capabilities; they have become more common in tracking pre-clinical students’ patient interactions through simulated real-life interactions. Still, despite their importance in assessing clinical capabilities, medical students find OSCEs one of their most stressful examinations. This is most likely caused by students striving for perfection in all aspects of their medical education journey. Unknown or unfamiliar situations such as the OSCE heighten anxiety because a perfectionist personality’s intrinsic fear is a loss of control. Therefore, mock OSCE (mOSCE) simulations provide students with familiarity with the OSCE process and dedicated practice with near-peers that yield positive student results. This paper discusses logistical lessons for future mOSCE developers, students, and very near-peer volunteers derived from developing a very near-peer mock OSCE in a Doctor of Medicine (MD) program at a university in Queensland, Australia.