# Practising for Intensive Care Medicine (FFICM Final OSCE) with MedMock

Canonical page: https://medmock.com/exams/intensive-care-medicine-fficm-final-osce

## What is the FFICM Final OSCE, and how do you practise for it?

The Intensive Care Medicine Final OSCE, taken alongside the Final SOE after passing the Final MCQ. On 1 July 2026 the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine became the College of Intensive Care Medicine (with postnominals moving from FFICM to FCICM); this page retains the FFICM name used alongside FCICM during transition. The real circuit has thirteen 7-minute stations, each preceded by 1 minute of reading time. MedMock practises the spoken and screen-based stations across three station types: Data Interpretation (ECGs, chest and abdominal radiographs, CT head and thorax, arterial blood gases, biochemistry and microbiology results) and Professionalism and Communication (treatment escalation, ceiling-of-care and withdrawal discussions, organ donation, and critical incident disclosure with a relative or colleague) in full, plus Intensive Care Equipment partly using on-screen images and waveforms (tracheostomy tubes, renal replacement therapy circuits, ventilator scalars, invasive lines and chest drains, without physical handling). Resuscitation and high-fidelity simulation stations are not simulated. MedMock lets you practise it out loud against an AI patient, with examiner-style feedback on any station you finish.

An illustrative example station, written by MedMock with example feedback, is at https://medmock.com/exams/intensive-care-medicine-fficm-final-osce/example

## What happens in the real FFICM Final OSCE (checked against the official source on 2026-10-24)

The Final FFICM / FCICM Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is the 13-station clinical circuit of the Fellowship of the Faculty (now College) of Intensive Care Medicine examination, sat alongside the four-station Structured Oral Examination (SOE) after passing the Final MCQ. Each OSCE station lasts seven minutes after one minute of reading time, is marked out of 20, and tests applied intensive care data interpretation, equipment, resuscitation, clinical scenarios and professionalism.

- **Data interpretation stations** (7 minutes): Seven-minute stations after one minute of reading time testing interpretation of intensive care investigations and monitoring data — arterial blood gases, biochemistry, haematology, microbiology, 12-lead ECGs, chest and abdominal radiographs, CT scans and ventilator or haemodynamic waveforms — together with diagnosis and management.
- **Professionalism and communication stations** (7 minutes): Seven-minute simulated encounters after one minute of reading time with a relative or clinical colleague in intensive care, covering treatment escalation and ceiling-of-care discussions, withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, neurological death testing and organ donation, or Duty of Candour after an ICU incident.
- **Intensive care equipment stations** (7 minutes): Seven-minute stations after one minute of reading time examining intensive care equipment, circuits and monitoring — including tracheostomy and airway equipment, renal replacement therapy circuits, invasive pressure transducers, chest drains and ventilators — covering principles, safety features and troubleshooting.
- **Resuscitation and clinical simulation stations** (7 minutes): Seven-minute interactive stations after one minute of reading time testing acute resuscitation, emergency drills and hands-on clinical procedures in intensive care.

Marking: Each of the 13 OSCE stations is marked out of 20 by an examiner against a structured marksheet, and the examiner also records a global rating for the candidate’s performance in the station.

Passing: The pass mark for the OSCE is determined by borderline regression across the 13 stations. At the first sitting, the Final OSCE and Final SOE must be taken together; if a candidate passes one component and fails the other, only the failed component needs to be retaken.

Sources: https://www.ficm.ac.uk/fficm-final-osce https://www.ficm.ac.uk/fficm-final-soe https://www.ficm.ac.uk/trainingexamsexaminations/resources-for-candidates https://ficm.ac.uk/sites/ficm/files/documents/2025-11/FFICM%20Examination%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf https://www.ficm.ac.uk/trainingexams/2027-launch-of-the-new-fcicm-exams https://www.ficm.ac.uk/trainingexams2027launchofthenewfcicmexams/candidate-faqs
Full format page: https://medmock.com/exams/intensive-care-medicine-fficm-final-osce/format

## How to prepare for the FFICM Final OSCE (facts checked against official sources on 2026-10-24)

The Final FFICM / FCICM OSCE is a 13-station circuit of seven-minute stations, each preceded by one minute of reading time and marked out of 20. Prepare against the FICM examination syllabus, practise interpreting multi-modal ICU data and equipment images against a seven-minute clock, and rehearse sensitive family and colleague discussions aloud.

1. **Check your sitting dates and the 2027 transition rules** — You must pass the Final MCQ before applying for the OSCE and SOE, and at your first sitting both components are taken together. On 1 July 2026 the Faculty became the College of Intensive Care Medicine (FCICM), and 2026-27 is the final academic year of the current OSCE/SOE format before ACRE launches from July 2027.
2. **Pace every station to one minute of reading and seven minutes inside** — Each of the 13 OSCE stations gives one minute to read the instructions outside before seven minutes in the station, marked out of 20. Practise moving briskly through structured sub-questions so you reach the management and troubleshooting marks at the end of the marksheet.
3. **Practise systematic ICU data interpretation aloud** — Data interpretation stations combine arterial blood gases, biochemistry, haematology, microbiology, 12-lead ECGs, chest or abdominal radiographs, CT scans and ventilator or haemodynamic traces. State the key abnormalities systematically, synthesise a unifying intensive care diagnosis and outline immediate management.
4. **Rehearse ICU communication and professionalism scenarios with a role-player** — Professionalism and communication stations test discussions with relatives or colleagues on treatment escalation plans, ceilings of therapy, withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, neurological death testing (AoMRC 2025 Update), organ donation and statutory Duty of Candour after an ICU incident.
5. **Know intensive care equipment principles, safety checks and troubleshooting** — Equipment stations test tracheostomy tubes and emergency algorithms, continuous renal replacement therapy circuits and anticoagulation, invasive pressure monitoring, chest drains and ventilators. Know what each item is, how it works, its safety features and how to troubleshoot common faults.

Official resources:

- FFICM Final OSCE (https://www.ficm.ac.uk/fficm-final-osce): The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine overview of the 13-station Final OSCE circuit, timing and marking.
- Resources for Candidates — FICM (https://www.ficm.ac.uk/trainingexamsexaminations/resources-for-candidates): The syllabus, exam glossary, example questions and examiner guidance on topics that have scored poorly.
- FFICM Examination Annual Report 2024-25 (https://ficm.ac.uk/sites/ficm/files/documents/2025-11/FFICM%20Examination%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf): Examiner feedback on candidate performance across the Final MCQ, OSCE and SOE.
- Candidate FAQs — 2027 Launch of the New FCICM Exams (https://www.ficm.ac.uk/trainingexams2027launchofthenewfcicmexams/candidate-faqs): Transition rules for the final academic year of the legacy OSCE/SOE and the launch of ACRE from July 2027.

Common mistakes examiners report:

- Describing isolated laboratory or imaging abnormalities in data stations without synthesising them into a clear intensive care diagnosis and immediate management plan. (source: https://ficm.ac.uk/sites/ficm/files/documents/2025-11/FFICM%20Examination%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)
- Using medical jargon or evading direct questions about prognosis and ceilings of care in communication stations with distressed relatives. (source: https://ficm.ac.uk/sites/ficm/files/documents/2025-11/FFICM%20Examination%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf)

Sources: https://www.ficm.ac.uk/fficm-final-osce https://www.ficm.ac.uk/fficm-final-soe https://www.ficm.ac.uk/trainingexamsexaminations/resources-for-candidates https://ficm.ac.uk/sites/ficm/files/documents/2025-11/FFICM%20Examination%20Annual%20Report%202024-25.pdf https://www.ficm.ac.uk/trainingexams2027launchofthenewfcicmexams/candidate-faqs
Full guide: https://medmock.com/exams/intensive-care-medicine-fficm-final-osce/prepare

Upcoming sittings: FCICM OSCE/SOE, 15 - 18 March 2027 (source: Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, checked 2026-10-20).
All FFICM Final OSCE dates: https://medmock.com/exams/intensive-care-medicine-fficm-final-osce#dates

## Stations you can practise

- **Data Interpretation** — 7-minute examiner-led station after 1 minute of reading time: interpret multi-modal intensive care data on screen — 12-lead ECG, chest or abdominal radiograph, CT head or thorax, arterial blood gas, ventilator waveforms, biochemistry, coagulation and microbiology results — and outline diagnosis and ICU management.
- **Professionalism & Communication** — 7-minute simulated encounter after 1 minute of reading time with a patient's relative or clinical colleague in Intensive Care: ceiling-of-care and treatment escalation plans, withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, neurological death testing and organ donation, or Duty of Candour after an ICU medication or airway incident.
- **Intensive Care Equipment (Image-Based)** — 7-minute examiner-led station after 1 minute of reading time using on-screen images, circuit diagrams and waveforms: tracheostomy tubes and laryngectomy vs tracheostomy emergencies, CVVHDF circuits and anticoagulation, invasive arterial and central venous pressure transducers, chest drains and ventilator modes. Questions are asked over images; physical handling of equipment is not simulated.

## Sample FFICM Final OSCE questions

- *Professionalism & Communication:* Speak to the partner of a 72-year-old man with severe COPD and septic shock who is deteriorating despite high-flow nasal oxygen and vasopressors, to discuss why invasive ventilation is not clinically appropriate and agree a ceiling-of-treatment plan.
- *Intensive Care Equipment (Image-Based):* Explain how a continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration circuit operates, why transmembrane pressure rises during filter clotting, and how you troubleshoot a clotting circuit on regional citrate anticoagulation.

## Example scenarios

- *Data Interpretation:* A 59-year-old intubated patient with severe acute pancreatitis develops worsening hypoxia, rising peak airway pressures and a high-anion-gap metabolic acidosis on day 3 of ICU admission. Interpret the chest radiograph, ventilator scalars and arterial blood gas shown on screen and outline your management.
- *Professionalism & Communication:* Speak to the partner of a 72-year-old man with severe COPD and septic shock who is deteriorating despite high-flow nasal oxygen and vasopressors, to discuss why invasive ventilation is not clinically appropriate and agree a ceiling-of-treatment plan.
- *Intensive Care Equipment (Image-Based):* Examine the continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) circuit diagram and pressure alarms shown on screen. Identify the components, explain why the transmembrane pressure is rising, and state how you would troubleshoot filter clotting on regional citrate anticoagulation.

## How a practice session works

1. **Choose a station** — Pick from 3 station types drawn from the real FFICM Final OSCE curriculum, or run a full mock that takes you through them as a circuit.
2. **Have the conversation** — Speak naturally, out loud. The AI patient or examiner responds in real time — with follow-up questions, emotions, cues and unexpected turns, just like the real stations.
3. **Get instant feedback** — The moment you finish, you get specific, examiner-style feedback and a score — what you did well, what cost you marks, and precisely what to fix before the next attempt.

## Price

Start with a one-off £5 taster: 30 credits (30 minutes of speaking practice), not a subscription. After that, or instead, £119 per month for 600 credits. One credit is one minute of spoken practice, or two typed exchanges, and where the examiner or patient speaks first, that opening line is free. Examiner scorecards, mark schemes and model answers for finished sessions are included at no extra credit cost. Cancel at any time. Full details: https://medmock.com/pricing

## Frequently asked questions

### How does the feedback work?

When you finish a station you can have it marked, and the scorecard comes back in seconds — what you did well, what cost you marks, and exactly what to work on next. Scorecards, mark schemes and model answers are included at no extra credit cost.

### Can I practise specific FFICM Final OSCE stations?

Yes. You can pick any of the 3 station types to drill a weak area, or run a full mock circuit to simulate the real exam.

### How much does it cost?

You can start with a one-off £5 taster: 30 credits, which is 30 minutes of speaking practice, with no subscription. After that, or at any time, you can choose a monthly plan, which includes a monthly credit allowance. Current prices are on the pricing page.

## About MedMock

MedMock is a web app for practising the spoken parts of UK medical and dental exams and interviews out loud. The candidate talks; an AI patient, examiner or interview panel answers in real time by voice; and when the station ends MedMock marks the performance against that exam's assessment domains and shows the model answer.

It covers 104 spoken exams and interviews — OSCEs, vivas, structured oral exams, simulated consultations, and specialty-training and consultant interviews. It does not cover written or multiple-choice papers, and it is not a question bank.

It was founded by Mr Sam Nahas, MBBS BSc MEd FRCS (Tr & Orth), a practising consultant orthopaedic surgeon in the UK, with co-founder and CTO Arjan Jandu. It is operated by VirtualPatients Ltd (company no. 16303492).

Pricing: a one-off £5 taster of 30 credits to try it (not a subscription, one per account), and a monthly subscription from £20 to £129 depending on the exam (student exams cost least, fellowship exit exams and consultant interviews most), or £199 to £275 for the Intensive plans, which carry more credits. One credit is one minute of spoken practice, or two typed exchanges, and where the examiner or patient speaks first, that opening line is free. Examiner scorecards, mark schemes and model answers for finished sessions are included at no extra credit cost. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time.

It runs in a web browser on a laptop or phone; spoken practice needs a microphone. There is no public demo: practice needs an account with credits, usually from the taster or a monthly plan.

MedMock is for adults aged 18 or over. Sign-up asks every new account to confirm it.

MedMock is a revision tool. The patients, examiners and cases are fictional and AI-generated; it is not clinical guidance and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any Royal College, the GMC, the GDC or any examining body.

Start with the £5 taster: https://medmock.com/auth/signup