Ethics OSCE Practice
Practice Medical Ethics OSCE stations with AI patients and relatives. Work through capacity, consent, confidentiality, error disclosure, and end-of-life conversations under exam conditions.
Common Ethics OSCE Stations
Practice Cases
Blood Transfusion Refusal
45 y/o F with significant anemia who refuses blood transfusion on religious grounds
Patient Threatening Harm to Another
34 y/o M who voices a threat to harm an identifiable person during a clinic visit
Code Status Discussion
80 y/o M with advanced illness, here to discuss goals of care and code status
Family Requests Withholding Diagnosis
52 y/o son asking the physician not to tell his elderly mother her new cancer diagnosis
Surrogate Decision-Making Discussion
Treatment decisions for incapacitated patient
Adolescent Confidentiality Scenario
Adolescent requesting confidential care
Medical Error Disclosure
Disclosing medication error that caused harm
Consent Refusal
Jehovah's Witness refusing blood transfusion before surgery
End-of-Life Discussion
Goals of care discussion with metastatic cancer patient
Capacity Assessment
Patient with early dementia refusing recommended surgery
Study Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I structure an ethics station?
Find out what the person understands and what they are worried about before you argue anything. Name the conflict openly, work through the options and their consequences with them, and say what you can and cannot do rather than reciting the four principles at them.
How is capacity actually assessed?
Capacity is decision-specific. Check that the patient can understand the information, retain it long enough to decide, weigh it up, and communicate a choice. A patient can have capacity and still refuse treatment you believe is right.