Clinical Assessment Tools: Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)

Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)


 * Made up of multiple focused stations to assess discrete clinical skills, including;


 * data and image interpretation,
 * technical skills,
 * communication skills,


 * physical exam skills.


 * An OSCE station may include a standardized patient if the objective is best accomplished via a simulated patient encounter, e.g., communication or counseling skills. (1)


 * It is designed to test clinical skill performance and competence for a range of skills and is a practical, real-world approach to learning and assessment.
 * The OSCE content and scoring procedures are standardized


 * Every OSCE candidate experiences the same problem, and is asked to perform the same task, within the same time frame. All are exposed to the same level of difficulty, no matter where the examination is taken, and is marked using the same marking scheme.


 * The tasks in each OSCE station represent real-life clinical situations. These assess your ability to apply clinical knowledge and skills when, for example, meeting with a patient, writing an admission or discharge order, conferring with a colleague, etc. (2)


 * The validity of an OSCE and other assessment tools depends upon the number of stations and skills evaluated to give an overall view of the trainees’ clinical skill level. (3)

References

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546672/

(2) https://mcc.ca/examinations/osce-orientation/history/

(3) https://pmj.bmj.com/content/80/940/63