Assessment of a young woman with episodes of sudden fear
NMC OSCE practice station

The task

You are a registered nurse in a community mental health team clinic. Anjali Menon, aged 26, was referred by her GP after several episodes of sudden, intense fear. She attends alone. Introduce yourself, build rapport, and carry out a focused mental health assessment, including risk. Record your assessment, risk summary and plan on the form provided. Say aloud what you are exploring and why, then agree the next steps with her in plain language.

What this station tests

• Ask directly about suicide in every mental health assessment. Asking does not plant the idea.
• Panic symptoms are real physical events; explaining the adrenaline response reduces fear.
• Check caffeine, alcohol and physical causes before labelling the problem as anxiety alone.
• Use a scale such as GAD-7 to support, not replace, your clinical judgement.
• Offer stepped care and shared decisions; avoid reaching for medicines first.

Sources for the clinical content

• NICE CG113: Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults
• NICE NG225: Self-harm: assessment, management and preventing recurrence
• NMC: The Code

An original practice scenario with invented patients. Not an exam question.

Practise next

• Mental state examination of a withdrawn patient
• De-escalating an agitated patient on a mental health unit
• Urgent assessment of a woman with persistent low mood