COVID-19 pandemic prompts the development of a Web-OSCE using Zoom teleconferencing to resume medical students' clinical skills training at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar.

Abstract

Web-Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCEs) were piloted for the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) exams in the USA two decades ago and were shown to be an acceptable way to conduct OSCEs remotely. The learners valued the process yet expressed numerous limitations.1 In response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Qatar, medical schools stopped in-person teaching creating a hiatus in clinical instruction. The Clinical Skills and Simulation Lab (CSSL) team devised and piloted a Web-OSCE to determine its feasibility in this setting, and to evaluate stakeholders’ experiences. We describe the steps taken to create a Web-OSCE built on women’s reproductive and sexual health which is part of the third year Obstetrics and Gynecology Clerkship curriculum, using Zoom teleconferencing. It mirrored the steps taken when conducting this activity in person; however, all communication relied on emails before the event, Zoom during the event with WhatsApp as a backup for connectivity between learners, Zoom hosts and faculty. ### Pre-Web-OSCE steps #### Preparing students CSSL provided by email a step-by-step instruction guide plus a pre-OSCE task for students to complete to ensure that they could access the OSCE on the day of the activity. A live Zoom session led by faculty reviewed the learning objectives, expectations and assessment and served as an open forum for students to ask questions in order to mitigate any anxiety surrounding the new modality. #### Preparing simulated patients Simulated patients (SP) were surveyed to assess their interest and technology capabilities to participate in Zoom activities. Interested SPs joined a Zoom meeting with staff members, who ensured they had adequate technical capability. SPs were selected and confirmed according to requirements of the case. Training notes and checklists were sent …