A study to assess the reliability of structured viva examination over traditional viva examination among 2nd-year pharmacology students

Abstract

Introduction: Although viva voce provides the examiner an opportunity to probe and assess the reasoning and higher-order thinking abilities of the student, it is marred by inconsistency, subjectivity, and biases. These issues can be addressed by increasing the objectivity and standardization of the viva examination. Hence, this study was done to explore the perception and opinion regarding structured viva examination and to compare and correlate the marks of structured viva with theory examinations among 2nd-year medical students. Materials and Methods: An educational study was carried out on 150 students after obtaining institutional ethical committee and informed consent, out of which 42 students had dropped. The students were subjected to a theory examination of 30 marks following which they were divided into two groups. One group was assessed by traditional viva examination, whereas the other group was assessed by structured viva. The perception of the students and faculty was recorded using a five-point Likert scale. The marks obtained in the viva examination were correlated with the theory examination using Pearson coefficient. The significance of the mean was compared using Student's t-test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A moderate positive correlation (r = 0.442; P = 0.001) was seen between marks scored in structured viva and theory examination. The overall response of the students and examiners was favorable toward a structured examination. Conclusion: Structured viva examination may be considered more reliable and fairer in comparison to a traditional viva examination. Hence, it may be preferred over the traditional viva examination.