Safe sleep counselling — communication OSCE

Objectives

1. Elicit actual (not ideal) sleep practices without shame. [1]
2. Correct soft bedding and hazardous shared-sleep plans. [1] [12]
3. Teach core safe-sleep rules with teach-back. [1] [2]
4. Safety-net for sofa sleep and future rolling/swaddle transition. [10] [11]

Candidate brief

12-minute station. Caregivers of a 4-week-old are present. No acute illness. [1]

Expected actions

• Open with partnership: nights are hard; you want a plan that is safe and doable. [1]
• Ask about position, surface, objects in cot, room-sharing, bed-sharing, sofas, smoke, swaddle. [1]
• Explain bare firm flat supine sleep and room-share without routine bed-sharing. [1]
• Name sofa/armchair shared sleep as high risk. [10]
• Remove pillows/soft objects with plain rationale. [12]
• Teach-back: ask parents to restate tonight’s plan. [1]
• Offer written/visual supports and follow-up if no safe sleep space. [1]

Marking

Pass: non-judgemental history, correct core rules, hazard-specific advice, teach-back. [1]
Fail: shaming; endorsing side sleep or pillows; ignoring sofa risk; no clear plan. [1] [10]