RCVS OSCE skills checklist: what overseas vets should practise
Updated 20 October 2026
Overseas vets are often experienced but have not done some UK-style practical tasks for years, or never in the format the examiners expect. Use this list to find the gaps. Practise each with real kit, a timer and a checklist.
Theatre and surgical skills
- Surgical scrub, gowning and gloving without breaking sterility.
- Draping a patient and laying out instruments.
- Simple interrupted and continuous sutures, and knot tying.
Anaesthesia and fluids
- The anaesthetic machine safety check, including the low oxygen alarm and the leak test.
- Choosing a breathing system and setting a fresh gas flow.
- Selecting fluids, setting up a giving set and calculating a drip rate.
Laboratory and imaging
- PCV, blood smear preparation and microscope use.
- Urine tests and fine needle aspirate technique.
- Positioning for radiographs and radiation safety.
Bandages and injections
- Paw, limb and ear bandages.
- Subcutaneous, intramuscular and intravenous injection technique and safe sharps handling.
Equine and farm animal
- Hoof handling, equine injections and identification checks.
- The California Mastitis Test and milk sampling.
- Faecal worm egg counts, casting and restraint.
Emergency, hygiene and prescribing
- CPR at 100 to 120 compressions per minute.
- Hand hygiene and biosecurity.
- Writing a correct medicine label and prescription.
- Taking a history and explaining a plan to a client in clear, kind language.
Three habits that win marks
- Safe: for you, the animal, the handler and the examiner.
- Systematic: kit first, then the procedure, then tidy up, in the same order every time.
- Spoken: say what you check as you do it.
Frequently asked questions
What skills are tested in the RCVS OSCE?
Clinical examination, diagnostic and practical procedures, communication scenarios and practical skills demonstrations, across companion animal, production animal and equine areas.
How should I practise OSCE skills at home?
Use real kit if you can, or a towel, a pen and a syringe, set a 15 minute timer and tick a checklist honestly.
Keep reading
- The RCVS OSCE: what to expect at the practical stage of the SME
- OSCE calculations for vets: worked examples for fluid rates, doses and tablets
- RCVS Statutory Membership Exam (SME): what overseas vets need to know