Oxygen therapy is one of the new skill station added to NMC OSCE from November 14 2022. Time limit for this station is 10 minutes. More details are given below

Oxygen Therapy – New Skill NMC OSCE

Usually, scenario is a patient requires reservoir mask oxygen supply of 15L/minute. Moreover, target saturation and current observations will be provided. This skill can be demonstrated as follows.

Entering the room and checking for scene safety.

Introducing yourself and identifying/confirming patient using three checks. Taking consent from the patient

Explain the procedure to the person and discusses it with them.

Before administering any prescribed drug, look at the person’s prescription chart and checks that ALL of the following are correct:

• Person (checks ID with person: verbally, against wristband (where appropriate) and documentation), target saturation, device and flow rate, date and time of administration and check for any allergies.
  

  Correctly checks ALL of the following:

  Validity of prescription, signature of prescriber and make sure prescription is legible.

If any of these pieces of information is missing, unclear or illegible, the nurse should not proceed with administration and should consult the prescriber.

Cleans hands with alcohol hand rub, or washes with soap and water, and dries with paper towels, following WHO guidelines.

Identifies/selects the correct equipment (reservoir mask) and assembles and attaches tubing to the flow meter.

Turns the oxygen flow meter on, selecting the correct flow rate of oxygen for the method of delivery (15 litres/minute).

Covers the one‐way valve with fingers until the reservoir bag is fully inflated.

Applies the oxygen mask by placing over the patient’s nose and mouth, then pulls the elastic strap over the head and adjusts the nose brace and straps on both sides to secure the mask in a position that seals the face but is not too tight.

Ensure that the chosen delivery method is comfortable for the patient.

State that they will reassess the saturations to check whether they are within the normal target range for the patient (94–98%), escalating if this is not achieved.

Also, state that they will inspect the patient’s skin regularly around the face, ears and back of head, and provide regular mouth care.

Finally, Sign and date the drug administration record.

Conclusion

Basically, oxygen therapy is a simple procedure provided you correctly identify the target saturation, current saturation along with technique of putting on reservoir mask and oxygen. Other than that, common pitfalls can be forgetting to identify patient, technique of oxygen administration or signing off the drug administration record.