Student-led Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs): A scoping review

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are widely used in undergraduate health professions education, but delivery of formative OSCEs is constrained by increasing student numbers and limited faculty resources. Student-led OSCEs have emerged as a peer-assisted learning approach that may expand access to practice while offering additional educational benefits for participating students. We conducted a scoping review of student-led OSCEs in undergraduate health professions education.

We searched five databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycINFO, ERIC, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global) from 1975 to September 2025. Studies were included if students were actively involved across planning and design, delivery, and assessment and feedback of OSCEs. Data were synthesised descriptively using a narrative approach.

Nineteen studies were included, published between 2014 and 2025 and predominantly conducted in medical education. Student-led OSCEs were typically formative, cross-year initiatives designed to enhance preparedness for summative assessments and increase access to structured practice. Reported outcomes were largely positive, including improved confidence, preparedness, and perceived skill development among candidates, and gains in teaching, feedback, and organisational skills among facilitators.

Student-led OSCEs appear feasible and acceptable, offering a flexible approach to expanding formative assessment and engaging students as educators. However, the evidence base remains largely descriptive, with outcomes predominantly based on short-term, self-reported perceptions. Most studies report local implementations without building cumulatively on prior work. Future research should examine how variation in design features and faculty involvement relates to outcomes, and how trade-offs between feasibility, educational value, and assessment credibility are negotiated in practice.