Station Numbers and Duration: Factors Affecting the Validity of OSCE - A Review Article

Abstract

Context: Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is one of the student assessment methods currently used in both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. This paper reviews evidence related to key factors influenced by the number and duration of OSCE stations. The aim of our study was to broaden current knowledge of the effective components of OSCE design. Although many OSCE designers have doubts about the optimal number and duration of OSCE stations, this issue has not been adequately addressed so far. Methods: The search was conducted through the databases of ScienceDirect, Eric, PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, and Google Scholar. English language papers, including original and review articles, without a time limit until 2022, were included. This review was conducted on papers selected using the keywords: Objective structured clinical examination, OSCE, duration of station, number of stations, utility, validity, reliability, cost, budget, finance, skill, competency. Results: The findings have been validated by scrutinizing OSCE-related skills, reliability, validity, and cost evaluations incorporating OSCE design. These results revealed that key factors to consider in OSCE design include skills, reliability, validity, and cost. Conclusions: Our findings could have a profound impact on the design of OSCE structures in medical education worldwide.