Structured Multi-Skill Assessment (SMSA) in pharmacy: A contextual adaptation for authentic assessment for colleges of pharmacy and beyond

Nadir Kheir,Abdou Ndoye,Ahmed Awaisu,Kyle John Wilby

doi:10.5339/avi.2015.5

Abstract

There is a need for a contextual adaptation model of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) procedures and assessment methods into diverse contexts with great cultural diversity that is both affordable and achievable. This manuscript aims to describe the principles, organizational structure and theoretical framework of the Structured Multi-Skill Assessment (SMSA), a modified version of the OSCE and a performance-based assessment method developed at the Qatar University College of Pharmacy (QU CPH) that addresses contextual and cultural considerations when used in undergraduate pharmacy curricula.

Highlights

Formative assessments in health professions education traditionally rely on methods such as multiplechoice and essay questions.[1,2] These traditional methods of assessment may not adequately evaluate essential clinical competence, professional skills and measure cognitive learning abilities.[1,2,3] A disparity has been reported between high performance achievers in the classroom and those in clinical settings.[2]
There seems to be a need for a contextual adaptation model of traditional objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) procedures and assessment methods into diverse contexts with great cultural diversity that is both affordable and achievable. This manuscript aims to describe the principles, organizational structure and theoretical framework of the Structured Multi-Skill Assessment (SMSA), a modified version of the OSCE and a performancebased assessment method invented at the Qatar University College of Pharmacy (QU CPH) that addresses contextual and cultural considerations when used in undergraduate pharmacy curricula
HISTORY OF THE STRUCTURED MULTI-SKILL ASSESSMENT (SMSA) METHOD As part of our teaching and assessment innovations at QU CPH, we developed a modified performancebased assessment technique that we called the Structured Multi-Skill Assessment (SMSA), which shares similar basic principles and mechanics with an OSCE, but designed to provide contextual validity when used as part of an undergraduate pharmacy curriculum

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Formative assessments in health professions education traditionally rely on methods such as multiplechoice and essay questions.[1,2] These traditional methods of assessment may not adequately evaluate essential clinical competence, professional skills and measure cognitive learning abilities.[1,2,3] A disparity has been reported between high performance achievers in the classroom and those in clinical settings.[2]. The term SMSA was originally coined by Nadir Kheir, a professor of pharmacy practice at QU CPH, in his attempt to contextualize a pharmacy-oriented professional skill-based assessment technique that can evaluate pharmacy skills including patient counseling and education, data gathering and historytaking, drug therapy problem identification and resolution, and communication with patients and other health care providers Both SMSA and OSCE are similar competency-based assessment methods and consist of standardized tasks that cover a number of competencies using objective and structured grading sheets.

DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION