Changes to objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) at Australian medical schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract Introduction There is a dearth of published literature on the organisation of family medicine/general practice undergraduate teaching in the former Yugoslavia. Methods A semi-structured questionnaire was sent to the addresses of 19 medical schools in the region. Questions covered the structure of Departments of Family Medicine (DFM), organisation of teaching, assessment of students and their involvement in departmental activities. Results Thirteen medical schools responded, of which twelve have a formal DFM. Few DFM have full-time staff, with most relying upon external collaborators. Nine of 13 medical schools have family doctors teaching other subjects, covering an average of 2.4 years of the medical curriculum (range: 1-5). The total number of hours dedicated to teaching ranged from 30 - 420 (Md 180). Practice-based teaching prevails, which is conducted both in city and rural practices in over half of the respondent schools. Written exams are conducted at all but two medical schools, with the written grade contributing between 30 and 75 percent (Md=40%) of the total score. Nine medical schools have a formal method of practical skills assessment, five of which use Objective Structured Clinical Examinations. Student participation is actively sought at all but three medical schools, mainly through research. Conclusion Most medical schools of the former Yugoslavia recognise the importance of family medicine in undergraduate education, although considerable variations exist in the organisation of teaching. Where DFM do not exist, we hope our study will provide evidence to support their establishment and the employment of more GPs by medical schools.

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Medical student assessments—frequency of radiological images used: a national study

BJR|Open ◽

10.1259/bjro.20200047 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 20200047

Author(s):

Cindy Chew ◽

Patrick J O'Dwyer ◽

Alan Jaap ◽

Suanne McDowall ◽

Olga JL Remers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medical Student ◽

Medical Students ◽

Medical Schools ◽

Modern Medicine ◽

Study Data ◽

National Study ◽

Multiple Choice Questions ◽

Student Assessments ◽

Radiological Images ◽

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations

Objectives: Assessments are a key part of life for medical students at University. We know there is variation in these assessments across Universities. The aims of this study were to expatiate summative assessments in Scottish Medical Schools and to examine how frequently radiological images feature in them. Methods: All Scottish medical schools were invited to participate in the study. Data on objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs; 5 years) and written assessments (3 years) were retrospectively collected for each university and results were collated. Each University was randomly assigned a letter from A to E and anonymised for data presentation. Results: 10,534 multiple choice questions (MCQ) and 1083 OSCE stations were included in this study. There was wide variation in the number, type and timing of assessments across Scottish medical schools. There were highly significant differences in the number of OSCE stations and the number of MCQs set over the study period (p < 0.0001). Radiological images were used on average 0.6 times (range 0–1.1) in each OSCE examination and 2.4 times (range 0.1–3.7) for written assessments. Conclusion: In this detailed study, we demonstrated significant differences in medical student assessments across Scottish Universities. Given the importance of Radiology in modern medicine, the frequency and differences in which radiological images were used in assessments across Universities should be addressed. Advances in knowledge: This is the first national longitudinal study to quantify the role of radiological images in summative Medical Student Assessments. Great variability exists in the extent and how (clinical versus written assessments) radiological images are used to assess Scottish medical students. Radiological images are used infrequently in clinical assessments, but are present in every written assessment. These findings could help inform medical schools and academic radiologists as they prepare medical students for the imminent unified medical licensing examination, where Clinical Imaging is a subject with one of the highest number of associated conditions examinable.

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Assessing the utility of virtual OSCE sessions as an educational tool: a national pilot study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-800792/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sarika Grover ◽

Maharsh Pandya ◽

Chavini Ranasinghe ◽

Saajan P. Ramji ◽

Harroop Bola ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Data Interpretation ◽

Medical Schools ◽

Self Report ◽

Practical Skills ◽

History Taking ◽

The Past ◽

Feedback Questionnaire ◽

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations ◽

The Uk

Abstract BackgroundObjective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are a common form of assessment used across medical schools in the UK to assess clinical competence and practical skills and are traditionally held in an in-person format. In the past, medical students have often prepared for such exams through in-person peer-assisted learning (PAL), however, due to the recent Covid-19 pandemic, many in-person teaching sessions transitioned to online-based formats. There is currently a paucity of research on the utility of virtual PAL OSCE sessions and thus, we carried out a national pilot study to determine the effectiveness of virtual OSCE teaching via feedback from participants and examiners. MethodsA total of 85 students attended from 19 UK-based medical schools with eight students based internationally attended the series of online OSCE workshops delivered via ZoomⓇ. All students and examiners completed a feedback questionnaire at the end of each session regarding parameters, which included questions on pre-and post-workshop confidence in three OSCE domains: history-taking, communication and data interpretation. The five-point Likert scale was used to self-report confidence, and the results were analysed using the Mann-Whitney U test after assessing for normality using the Shapiro-Wilk test.Results Results from student feedback showed an increase in confidence for all three OSCE domains after each event (p<0.001) with 69.4% agreeing or strongly agreeing that online OSCE sessions could sufficiently prepare them for in-person exams. Questionnaire feedback revealed that 97.6% of students and 86.7% of examiners agreed that virtual OSCE teaching would be useful for preparing for in-person OSCE examinations after the pandemic. ConclusionThe majority of participants in the virtual OSCE sessions reported an improvement in their confidence in history-taking, communication and data interpretation skills. The majority of participants and examiners also reported that they found virtual OSCE sessions to be as engaging and as interactive as in-person teaching. This study has demonstrated that virtual OSCE workshops can serve as a valuable learning resource for students with the potential to be beneficial beyond the pandemic, however, further studies that directly compare academic outcomes between in-person and virtual OSCE teaching sessions are required.

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