Refugee, asylum-seeking and newly arrived children — OSCE communication and screening station

OSCE — Communication and screening station

Candidate instructions

You are the paediatric registrar. You have 8 minutes per station. ^[1]

Station A (on-arrival assessment). A nine-year-old girl is brought by her mother for an on-arrival health assessment six weeks after the family fled a conflict zone. They share no language with your team. A caseworker phones and expects a full copy of your assessment for the immigration file. Conduct the opening of the consultation: engage the child and family trauma-informed through a trained interpreter, clarify guardianship and consent, state the confidentiality frame, and outline the on-arrival screening plan. ^[1]

Station B (detention and advocacy). You are asked to review the girl's younger sibling, who has spent three months in immigration detention. The mother reports sleep disturbance, regression and withdrawal. Conduct the assessment and explain your management, including your advocacy role regarding the detention environment. ^[6]

Examiner brief and marking domains

Domain 1 — Trauma-informed, interpreter-mediated engagement (Station A). Greets the child first, before the family; sets a safe, paced frame; arranges and uses a trained, professional interpreter rather than the child or an untrained staff member; explains the purpose of the visit; offers choice about the sequence of the interview and examination; lets the child keep a comfort object and the family close. Demonstrates the trauma-informed principles of safety, trust, choice, collaboration and strengths. ^{[2] [5]}

Domain 2 — Guardianship, consent and confidentiality (Station A). Clarifies and documents who holds parental responsibility; for a young child there is no mature-minor capacity, so consent rests with whoever holds responsibility. States conditional confidentiality aloud through the interpreter, in language the family can understand, and is explicit about what the caseworker will and will not receive — managing the request lawfully rather than complying by default, sharing the minimum necessary, and telling the family before any override. ^{[1] [5]}