How many stations are in the NMC OSCE?

10. 4 apie, 4 clinical skills, 2 values, behaviours and evidence-based practice.

What does APIE stand for?

Assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation. They are four linked stations built around a single patient scenario rather than four unrelated tasks.

How long does each station last?

The NMC's candidate booklet says a station, or a pair of linked stations, lasts between 8 and 21 minutes, and that the 10 stations come to about 3 hours of testing in total. It does not publish a figure for any individual station, so a site quoting one exact number for "a station" is still filling in a blank. Your confirmation and the briefing on the day are what to rely on.

Can I practise the OSCE online?

Partly. Simulator attempts come with every access plan, 4 of them with the 99 days plan, which is a full APIE sitting, and in larger packs on their own. Our simulator covers assessment-style stations from the 10: you hold the conversation with a simulated patient by typing, and are marked against criteria we wrote ourselves. The four clinical skills stations are performed on manikins and equipment and are not simulated here. The result is a simulated verdict, not a prediction of how an NMC assessor would mark you.

The 10 NMC OSCE stations, explained

Written and checked against the NMC’s published sources by The NMCMATE editorial team.Last checked 25 August 2026.

The OSCE is sat in the UK after you have passed the CBT, and it is 10 stations rather than one long exam. They fall into three groups, and knowing which group you are walking into changes how you should prepare for it.

The three groups of stations

APIE (4 stations). Four stations linked by one scenario, taken in order: assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation. You meet the same patient throughout, so what you find in the assessment is what you plan and act on.
Clinical skills (4 stations). Four practical skills, set as two pairs of two. These are performed on manikins and equipment rather than discussed.
Values, behaviours and evidence-based practice (2 stations). Two stations on professional values and behaviours and on evidence-based practice.

Where candidates come unstuck

Treating the four APIE stations as four separate exams. They share one patient and one scenario, so a detail missed in assessment follows you into planning, implementation and evaluation.
Preparing only for the clinical skills. The values, behaviours and evidence-based practice stations are part of the same sitting and carry the same weight per station as anything else.
Rehearsing procedures silently. Assessors cannot mark what they cannot observe, so saying what you are doing and why is part of doing it.
Learning a script. The scenario varies, and a candidate reciting a memorised order of questions tends to stop listening to the answers.

Common questions

How many stations are in the NMC OSCE?: 10. 4 apie, 4 clinical skills, 2 values, behaviours and evidence-based practice.
What does APIE stand for?: Assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation. They are four linked stations built around a single patient scenario rather than four unrelated tasks.
How long does each station last?: The NMC's candidate booklet says a station, or a pair of linked stations, lasts between 8 and 21 minutes, and that the 10 stations come to about 3 hours of testing in total. It does not publish a figure for any individual station, so a site quoting one exact number for "a station" is still filling in a blank. Your confirmation and the briefing on the day are what to rely on.
Can I practise the OSCE online?: Partly. Simulator attempts come with every access plan, 4 of them with the 99 days plan, which is a full APIE sitting, and in larger packs on their own. Our simulator covers assessment-style stations from the 10: you hold the conversation with a simulated patient by typing, and are marked against criteria we wrote ourselves. The four clinical skills stations are performed on manikins and equipment and are not simulated here. The result is a simulated verdict, not a prediction of how an NMC assessor would mark you.

Practise an assessment station

Talk to a simulated patient and get a marked report against the station criteria.

Simulator attempts come with every access plan, 4 of them with the 99 days plan, which is a full APIE sitting, and in larger packs on their own.

Stations are added and rewritten as the exam guidance changes, and every attempt runs against the current version, so a revision reaches your next station rather than a later edition of something you bought.

Watch a marked station See pricing

This page is one part of the exam. Work through the whole thing with the NMC OSCE pages.