[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-316922-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-316922-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","time-constrained-scenario-based-practical-examinations-tspes-an-alternative-to-osces","Time-constrained Scenario-based Practical Examinations (TSPEs) - an alternative to OSCEs?","","Assessing clinical competence in medical professionals relies on both work-based assessment and simulated clinical examinations, with student veterinary nurses evaluated via the Nursing Progress Log during placement and through practical exams such as OSCEs. Time-constrained scenario-based practical examinations (TSPEs) adapt OSCE principles by using a single patient scenario to assess similar practical skills. The article presents the underpinning theory for TSPEs and outlines practical considerations for course teams considering adoption of this assessment style.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/time-constrained-scenario-based-practical-examinations-tspes-an-alternative-to-osces/316922/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/time-constrained-scenario-based-practical-examinations-tspes-an-alternative-to-osces/316922.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"supergirl","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-09-20",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",10,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What are TSPEs and how do they relate to OSCEs?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"TSPEs are adapted from OSCEs and assess similar practical skills, but they use a single patient scenario rather than multiple unrelated tasks across stations.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Why do OSCEs receive criticism in veterinary education?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Common complaints include limited realism and increased stress, which can encourage surface learning focused on memorizing steps instead of understanding the purpose of tasks.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What guidance does the article offer for adopting TSPEs?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It introduces the theory behind TSPEs and covers practical considerations for course teams deciding whether to use this assessment approach.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},316922,1790119342,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,120,123,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":55,"slug":125},"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":112,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962088121634,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Time-constrained Scenario-based Practical Examinations (TSPEs)– an alternative to OSCEs?  \n“This article has been accepted for publication in The Veterinary Nursing Journal published by Taylor & Francis.”  \naEmily J. Hall MA VetMB PGCAP MRSB MRCVS FHEA (Corresponding author) (ORCID 0000-0002-9978-8736) [Emily.hall@ntu.ac.uk](Emily.hall@ntu.ac.uk)  \naAlison Simpson RVN TAQA FHEA (ORCID 0000-0002-3164-6379)  \naHeather Imrie BVetMed PhD PGHE MRCVS FHEA (ORCID 0000-0001-5214-3706)  \naNicola Ruedisueli RVN PGCHE FHEA CertVNRT PGDip Veterinary Education (ORCID 0000-0002-5114-0068)  \naSchool of Animal, Rural and Environmental Science, Nottingham Trent University,  \nBrackenhurst,  \nSouthwell, Nottinghamshire NG25 0QF  \nAbstract  \nAssessing clinical competence in medical professionals typically involves both work-based assessment and simulated clinical examinations. Student veterinary nurses are assessed through the Nursing Progress Log during placement, then by means of practical examinations – objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) . Time-constrained scenario-based practical examinations (TSPEs) are adapted from traditional OSCEs, including assessment of similar practical skills, but by means of a single patient scenario. This article introduces the theory behind using TSPEs and covers practical considerations for course teams considering adopting this assessment style.  \nKey words:  \nOSCEs, TSPEs, practical examination.  \nIntroduction  \nThe question of how to assess clinical competency is one that challenges all medical professions. Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) were introduced in medical education to assess surgical skills in an attempt to assess students ’ clinical ability, rather than just testing their factual knowledge (Cuschieri, Gleeson, Harden, & Wood, 1979) . OSCEshave been described as examinations where “students demonstrate their competence under a variety of simulated conditions”(Watson, Stimpson, Topping, & Porock, 2002) . OSCEs typically include a range of practical or clinical tasks, performed within a set time limit and are assessed by a suitably qualified examiner.  \nHuman medical professionals have an important advantage over veterinary educators as they can use actual patients in their examinations. Medical actors can be used to simulate patient interactions, with scripts so that each student faces exactly the same scenario, ensuring each student has the same assessment experience. Whilst animals are sometimes used in the assessment of physical examination skills, assessors need to ensure there is consistency throughout the assessment so that later students are not disadvantaged by patients becoming fatigued. More importantly, they also need to ensure the welfare of the animals being used in the exam. Not many cats will tolerate repeated physical examinations and no animal should be subjected to unnecessary procedures simply for an educational assessment, so in veterinary education we are often reliant on animal models (Figure 1) .  \nFigure 1. A rabbit feeding tube practical station, with stuffed rabbit toy as a simulation patient.  \nThe issues with OSCEs  \nOne of the common complaints regarding OSCEs is that they lack realism: “OSCE’s are simulations ofthe real world, but they are not the real world”(Downing & Haladyna, 2004) . Standing over a stuffed toy with an examiner watching over you with their clipboard is stressful and unrealistic. Performing a series of unrelated tasks in isolation can lead some students to see the assessment as simply a hurdle to be overcome, rather than linking it to their professional practice and skills development (Nicol & Freeth, 1998) . This can lead to students attempting to memorise the ‘steps’ to each practical task, rather than understanding why tasks are performed in a specific way. This is a form of surface learning (Biggs & Tang, 2011) associated with decreased performance in assessments and ultimately poor learning outcomes, which has the ","cbCaijYTYf1kwLUH","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijYTYf1kwLUH","pdf",440043,11,"English","# Introduction\n## The issues with OSCEs\n## Adapting OSCEs with scenario-based approaches","[{\"question\":\"What are TSPEs and how do they relate to OSCEs?\",\"answer\":\"TSPEs are adapted from OSCEs and assess similar practical skills, but they use a single patient scenario rather than multiple unrelated tasks across stations.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do OSCEs receive criticism in veterinary education?\",\"answer\":\"Common complaints include limited realism and increased stress, which can encourage surface learning focused on memorizing steps instead of understanding the purpose of tasks.\"},{\"question\":\"What guidance does the article offer for adopting TSPEs?\",\"answer\":\"It introduces the theory behind TSPEs and covers practical considerations for course teams deciding whether to use this assessment approach.\"}]","Time-constrained Scenario-based Practical Examinations (TSPEs) - an alternative to OSCEs? | PDF",1789926284,28]