A student-initiated objective structured clinical examination as a sustainable cost-effective learning experience

Abstract

Background: The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) has gained widespread use as a form of performance assessment. However, opportunities for students to participate in practice OSCEs are limited by the financial, faculty and administrative investments required. Objectives: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of a student-run mock OSCE (MOSCE) as a learning experience for medical students of all 4 years. Design: We conducted a five-station MOSCE for third-year students. This involved fourth-year students as examiners and first-/second-year students as standardized patients (SPs). Each examiner scored examinees using a checklist and global rating scale while providing written and verbal feedback. MOSCE stations and checklists were designed by students and reviewed by a faculty supervisor. Following the MOSCE, participants completed surveys which elucidated their perceptions on the roles they took during the MOSCE. Results: Fifty examinees participated in the MOSCE. Of these, 42 (84%) consented to participate in the study and submitted completed questionnaires. Twenty-four examiners participated in the OSCE and consented to participate in the study, with 22 (92%) submitting completed questionnaires. Fifty-three of 60 SPs (88%) agreed to take part in this study, and 51 (85%) completed questionnaires. The internal consistency of the five-station OSCE was calculated as a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.443. Students commented positively on having the opportunity to network and engage in mentorship activities and reinforce clinical concepts. Conclusions: Examinees, examiners, and SPs all perceived the MOSCE to be a beneficial learning experience. We found the MOSCE to be a feasible and acceptable means of providing additional OSCE practice to students prior to higher-stakes evaluations.

Peers as OSCE assessors for junior medical students – a review of routine use: a mixed methods study

“…In 2017, medical students described an approach of a peer-led mock OSCE they had planned and administered [31]. Updated in 2018, Lee et al published their experiences with a mock OSCE in a trend article [32]. Our data shows that from a learner's perspective peer assessors are beneficial.…”

The efficacy of peer assessment in objective structured clinical examinations for formative feedback: a preliminary study

“…Although our study shows limited effectiveness of peer assessment in this OSCE format, it is still worthwhile to explore its feasibility and to enhance its effectiveness as it allows students to practice OSCEs more frequently than in the conventional format. Offering medical students opportunities to practice OSCEs is limited by financial, faculty, and administrative constraints [15]. We acknowledge that the present study was a preliminary study and thus has several limitations and warrant future studies.…”

“…Moreover, research indicates the accuracy of selfassessment of clinical performance is affected by such factors as gender, task familiarity, and years in medical study [10][11][12]. On the other hand, some studies have shown medical students can act as effective peer exam-iners [8,[13][14][15][16][17] and that student-led OSCEs constitute a sustainable cost-effective approach [15].…”

Ethnic and Gender Biases in Clinical Performance Assessment (CPA) in Healthcare Education: A Systematic Review

“…Many studies have reported that CPAs using SPs, such as the OSCE, are reliable and valid to evaluate the clinical performance of healthcare students, and allow examiners to provide more accurate feedback to students [28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. However, an issue for CPAs is the possible subjectivity of examiners that may introduce the risk of unfairness and bias, especially when examiners are affected by construct-irrelevant characteristics, such as ethnicity and/or gender [3,[35][36][37].…”