Both the OSCE and SOE are based on the same curriculum, however they test different skills. SOE questions test factual recall and understanding of a topic, often looking at the breadth of a candidate’s knowledge within a topic. A candidate’s overall answer may be satisfactory, even with some details missing. Whereas an OSCE question on the same topic might ask the candidate to interpret investigations and reach a specific diagnosis. A candidate who has a general breadth of theoretical knowledge on the topic but either cannot apply this to the interpretation of the investigations or has a knowledge gap in the specific detailed area of the OSCE may therefore score highly on the SOE question but less well on the OSCE question on the same topic area. In each exam sitting several candidates are successful at one part but not the other.
In October 2021 the overall pass rate was 67% for the SOE; this is the lowest pass rate since at least 2015.
Of candidates taking the whole exam for the first time in October 2021: 76% passed SOE and 26% passed OSCE, showing a similar trend to the whole cohort.
For the 66 candidates taking both the OSCE and SOE in October 2021, 40 (66%) either passed both sections or failed both sections and 26 (40%) candidates passed either the SOE or OSCE.
The OSCE is designed to be a more objective exam than the SOE. Both the questions and the answers required for marks are fixed, and we observe less variation between examiners in their questioning and marking in the OSCE. The OSCE covers a broader cross section of the curriculum range than the SOE (13 rather than 8 topic areas) with greater likely content validity. The current marking system for the SOE, awarding candidates a pass, borderline or fail, provides little scope for examiners to reflect differing levels of performance in candidates.
