Perception — elicit and localise an abnormal perceptual experience
1 of 6 debrief stages revealed
Fictional OSCE teaching station. A deterministic station with a rubric for learning and self-assessment — it is not auto-graded, produces no score, and is not a diagnosis exam. Not a real patient.
Auditory Hallucination Illusion Pseudohallucination
Candidate instructions
Type E · Perception · time limit 7 min
You are a trainee. A 33-year-old reports ‘hearing things’. In 7 minutes, elicit and localise the perceptual experience precisely enough to separate a true hallucination from an illusion or a pseudohallucination. Describe; do not diagnose.
Task: Characterise the percept on modality, location (inner vs outer space), reality/vividness, involuntariness and the presence or absence of a real external stimulus.
Simulated patient role (reveal when practising with a partner)
Role (simulated patient): You hear a voice you experience as coming from outside, through your ears, as clear as a real person; it is involuntary. There is no real sound being misheard. You answer plainly and helpfully to clear, open questions.
Fictional teaching station; screen briefly for distressing or command content and document its absence if asked.
Attempt the station (7 min)
Run the station, ideally aloud with a peer, then reveal the debrief.
Consider: What single question most efficiently separates a hallucination from an illusion here?