NZ OSCE changes, November 2026: what’s new in all 10 stations
Candidates who sat the Nursing Council of New Zealand OSCE in November 2026 report new clinical scenarios in nine of the ten stations; only the Care Plan station is unchanged. The skills being tested are the same, but the patient stories and charts are new, so your practice needs to match.
Reviewed by NZ registered nurse educators at NZ Skills Connect
Watch: NZ OSCE 2026 – What’s Changed
Station-by-station walkthrough of the new scenarios and how to prepare. Enter your details to watch instantly.
Station by station
What has changed in each station
Same 10 stations. New clinical stories in 9 of them.
| Station | Before | Now reported | Skills the student must show |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Mental Health | General mental health | Alcohol use and stress | De-escalation, explaining an alcohol screening tool, medicine safety advice, relaxation teaching, progress note |
| 2. Physiological Assessment | Asthma | Atrial fibrillation | Accurate BP, pulse and respirations with an irregular pulse; explaining AF |
| 3. Pain → Fluid balance | Pain assessment | Heart failure and fluid balance charting | Intake/output charting, fluid restriction teaching, heart failure education |
| 4. Cultural Safety | Māori patient | Māori patient and surgical consent | Culturally safe care, checking understanding, the nurse’s role in consent |
| 5. Emergency BLS | Infant CPR | Child CPR | Child airway positioning, one-hand compressions, DRSABCD |
| 6. Medication | Insulin | Intramuscular injection with a second checker | Safe checking, choosing the right medicine strength, IM technique |
| 7. Clinical Skills | Wound dressing | Wound assessment from a picture, then dressing | Describing a wound, aseptic technique, neurovascular check |
| 8. Communication | Aged care handover | Teamwork handover: iron deficiency anaemia | Receiving handover, assessing side effects, answering the doctor (ISBAR), delegation |
| 9. Care Plan | Care plan | No change reported | Problem, goal, interventions, evaluation |
| 10. Deteriorating Patient | Deterioration (with ECG) | Deterioration after a long-haul flight | Vital signs analysis, early warning score, differential diagnosis, ISBAR call |
Don’t panic
Same skills, new stories – what this means for you
Core skills still count
Hand hygiene, privacy, identification, consent, clear explanations, documentation and escalation are still scored in every station.
Read the charts before you act
More stations now give you charts: vital signs, medicines and progress notes. Read them before you act.
Update your practice
If you trained before November 2026, update your practice scenarios before your exam date.
Already updated
NZSC has already updated every station
- New practice scenarios for all 10 stations, built in the New Zealand healthcare context
- Online learning platform (10 days) with acted videos, readings and lectures on every station
- Live online classes Monday–Friday, 9–10 pm NZ time, now covering the new scenarios; recordings available
- One-to-one online mock review with an NZ registered nurse tutor
- Two weeks in-person in Christchurch (93 Orbell Street, Sydenham): one week observation, one week hands-on mocks of all 10 stations with personal feedback
- Optional communication sessions with Kiwi actors
Free video lessons
Watch our NZ OSCE preparation playlist
Short videos from NZSC tutors on the skills every station still tests. Use the playlist menu (top right of the player) to pick a video.
Why nurses choose NZSC
Over 2,000 internationally qualified nurses trained since October 2024
With an average OSCE success rate above 90%. Founded by an NZ registered nurse and nursing lecturer with 14 years of NZ practice. NZSC helped advocate for OSCE candidates to receive feedback on their results.
Preparing from overseas?
Start before you arrive. Our pre-arrival online package gives you the online learning platform, unlimited live classes and three 1:1 mock reviews, so you land in New Zealand ready for the updated stations.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Candidates who sat the Nursing Council of New Zealand OSCE in November 2026 report new clinical scenarios in nine of the ten stations. The Care Plan station is reported unchanged. The skills tested are the same.
Mental health, physiological assessment, pain (now fluid balance), cultural safety, emergency BLS, medication, clinical skills (wound care), communication, care plan and the deteriorating patient.
Not harder, but different. The new scenarios add charts and New Zealand-specific details, so students who practise with updated scenarios and read the charts carefully are best prepared.
No. Your core skills still count. Update your practice with the new scenarios before your exam date – a 1:1 mock review is the fastest way to check.
Yes. NZSC’s online package gives you the learning platform, unlimited live classes and three 1:1 mock reviews before you arrive in New Zealand.
93 Orbell Street, Sydenham, Christchurch, with in-person training of up to 35 students a week.
No. It is based on reports from candidates. Always check the Nursing Council of New Zealand website for official requirements.
Your OSCE date is coming. Practise the new scenarios now.
Book a 1:1 mock review with an NZ registered nurse tutor and find out exactly what to update.
Disclaimer: Based on reports from candidates who sat the OSCE in November 2026. Not official Nursing Council of New Zealand material. Always check the Nursing Council website for official requirements.
NZ Skills Connect · www.nzsc.ac.nz · info@nzsc.ac.nz · WhatsApp +64 22 093 2915 · 93 Orbell Street, Sydenham, Christchurch
