Ah yes, OSCE vs hospital clinical examination. Two very different skill-sets and mind-sets
I always find it useful to pretend my pillow is a patient (can serve as a chest or an abdomen or a back) and practice on there to develop my routine. Sounds lame and sad af, but is more productive than finding a real person to practice on. Obviously during clinical years you have real patients so the pillow can be used solely for sleeping again
JVP is super important, the MDs in my tute last week seemed to have forgotten the basics of it, best to remember it!
edit: the Monash students also forgot... -_-
I'd also refrain from nodding like you're hearing something. Reminds me of that patient we had once where three medical students claimed to have heard the heart but it was on the other side, looks very awkward. Be honest what you can and can't detect, so your tutors (and yourself) know what you need to improve on. Practice makes perfect!
We also got allocated our first GP placements. Anyone got advice on how to make the most of it?
What type of things can you do? I found, during my GP rotation last year, to engage in "parallel consulting" where I would take a patient in one room and the GP has another patient in another room. We'd both work the patients up during the consult, and then when the GP was done with their patient they'd enter my room and I'd discuss my management and get the scripts printed for them to sign. That might be a little above your level as a first year, but if you're able to take some histories (HOPC, PHx, FHx, Meds, SHx,etc.), take some blood pressures, give some shots, listen to some chests, that would be great experience
Always try and be useful in any placement, if you're finding that you're not helping anyone, then you probably aren't helping yourself either.