Part B — the OSPE
The format
Part B is an objective structured practical examination (OSPE). It normally has 14 stations: 12 of 8 minutes and 2 of 16 minutes, and there may also be one or more rest stations (DIMC Regulations 1.2).
From the College's review of the exam (p. 8):
- Reading time. You get 1 minute before each station to read the information, then the station runs for its remaining 7 or 15 minutes.
- The two 16-minute stations always examine basic and advanced life support, and trauma care.
- All DIMC stations are indoors. The circuit runs continuously until every candidate has done all 14.
Part B is patient-facing, so treat the actors as patients. Overalls are allowed, but cover any markings that show your profession, employer or sponsors (Regulations section 6).
Equipment and aids
- The Sandpiper bag. Every station uses the same standardised equipment pack, and its contents are published (Sandpiper bag guidance).
- You don't need to learn where things are in the bag: examiners will point to them if asked.
- You are expected to use the equipment without guidance (Review, p. 13).
- Monitors and electronic kit. You apply the monitoring and interpret it: pulse oximetry, waveform capnography, ECG and blood pressure. The examiner runs the device's controls, and you are not tested on any particular brand's interface (Review, p. 13).
- Two named exceptions. Candidates are expected to know how to deploy and operate the LUCAS chest compression system, and to be familiar with scoop stretchers (Review, p. 13).
- Cognitive aids. Stations use a standardised drug dose aide memoire and standardised checklists, published by the College (Review, p. 14). Practise with them, so that on the day you use them rather than read them.
How stations are marked
- Checklists. Each station has a predetermined checklist; an 8-minute station has around 15 items (Review, p. 16).
- One overall pass mark. A pass mark contribution is set for each station, and the contributions are added up.
- No weighting. No station counts more than any other, so a poor station can be made up for by a strong one.
Treat each station as a fresh start. A bad one does not fail you on its own.
How DipIMC.Ninja rehearses Part B
No computer can reproduce an OSPE: the real thing is hands-on, with an examiner and an actor. What DipIMC.Ninja's stations rehearse is the decision-making under time pressure that sits underneath it.
- Real timings. 26 scenarios, 18 of 8 minutes and 8 of 16, run against a real clock. The clock starts when you press Start, and it keeps running while you read the feedback, as it would in the exam.
- One decision at a time. At each step you choose from several actions, each scored as best, acceptable or poor.
- Consequences. Some poor choices lead to a deteriorating patient, so the path you take matters.
- A debrief at the end: your path, your score by domain, and the sources behind every best action.
Use it alongside hands-on practice with colleagues, the Sandpiper bag list and the College's videos and podcasts.