‘Please just check her ears’ — structured PE OSCE

Candidate brief (8 minutes)

You are the paediatric doctor in a busy acute clinic. A caregiver says: “Please just check her ears — she has had fever since last night.” The child is 11 months old, sitting on the caregiver’s lap, intermittently crying, fully dressed. ^[15]

Tasks

1. Prepare the encounter and explain your plan to the caregiver in plain language. ^[15]
2. Demonstrate an age-adapted examination sequence. ^[15]
3. Measure and interpret age-banded vital signs with correct caveats. ^[1]
4. Respond if the examiner injects a deterioration cue. ^[15]
5. Close with documentation of incomplete parts and safety-netting. ^[15]