Professional Values NMC OSCE
Professional Values
Professional Values in the Nursing and Midwifery Council OSCE is a 10-minute written station. You will be given a clinical scenario and asked to explain, in bullet points and in the first person, what actions you would take and why.
This station assesses how well your decision-making aligns with the four themes of the NMC Code:
Prioritise people – treating people with kindness, dignity, compassion, and respect while keeping them at the centre of care.
Practise effectively – delivering safe, evidence-based care with clear communication and accurate documentation.
Preserve safety – recognising risks, escalating concerns appropriately, and acting to protect patient safety, including duty of candour.
Promote professionalism and trust – maintaining confidentiality, professional boundaries, accountability, and upholding the reputation of nursing at all times, including online and on social media.
Common themes include confidentiality, consent, safeguarding, communication with colleagues, raising concerns, professional boundaries, documentation, patient dignity, equality and diversity, medication errors, advocacy, and managing challenging situations in practice.
Topics that may be encountered in the Professional Values station include:
Bullying, Deteriorating Patient, Drug Error, Falsifying Observations, Falsifying Timesheets, Hospital Food, Impaired Performance, Laboratory Results, Patient Private Details, Possible Abuse, Racism, Recognising Signs of Professional Burnout, Social Media, and Witnessed Abuse.
It is important to study the Professional Values marking criteria before your exam so you understand exactly what the examiner is looking for and can structure your answers around the four themes of the NMC Code.
If you are unsuccessful and need to resit Professional Values, you will usually be given the same topic again, although the scenario may be worded differently.
