Abstract
BackgroundStudents can improve the learning process by developing their own multiple choice questions. If a similar effect occurred when creating OSCE (objective structured clinical examination) stations by themselves it could be beneficial to involve them in the development of OSCE stations. This study investigates the effect of students developing emergency medicine OSCE stations on their test performance.MethodIn the 2011/12 winter semester, an emergency medicine OSCE was held for the first time at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Leipzig. When preparing for the OSCE, 13 students (the intervention group) developed and tested emergency medicine examination stations as a learning experience. Their subsequent OSCE performance was compared to that of 13 other students (the control group), who were parallelized in terms of age, gender, semester and level of previous knowledge using the matched-pair method. In addition, both groups were compared to 20 students who tested the OSCE prior to regular emergency medicine training (test OSCE group).ResultsThere were no differences between the three groups regarding age (24.3 ± 2.6; 24.2 ± 3.4 and 24 ± 2.3 years) or previous knowledge (29.3 ± 3.4; 29.3 ± 3.2 and 28.9 ± 4.7 points in the multiple choice [MC] exam in emergency medicine). Merely the gender distribution differed (8 female and 5 male students in the intervention and control group vs. 3 males and 17 females in the test OSCE group).In the exam OSCE, participants in the intervention group scored 233.4 ± 6.3 points (mean ± SD) compared to 223.8 ± 9.2 points (p < 0.01) in the control group. Cohen’s effect size was d = 1.24. The students of the test OSCE group scored 223.2 ± 13.4 points.ConclusionsStudents who actively develop OSCE stations when preparing for an emergency medicine OSCE achieve better exam results.
Highlights
Students can improve the learning process by developing their own multiple choice questions
As a result of the matching procedure, the mean age of the control group (24.2 ± 3.4 years) and its gender distribution were no different from the intervention group (t-test for paired samples, p > 0.05; Table 3)
A t-test for paired samples comparing the intervention group and the control group with respect to the matched pairs design revealed no differences between the two groups (p > 0.05; Table 3)
Summary
Students can improve the learning process by developing their own multiple choice questions. This study investigates the effect of students developing emergency medicine OSCE stations on their test performance. One way of ensuring the necessary expertise is to OSCEs are used to examine practical clinical skills, the application of procedural knowledge, and under certain circumstances the existence and honing of medical attitudes [2,3,4]. OSCEs are a popular examination format among students [1,5,6] Despite these advantages, OSCEs are not yet routinely used on medical students (including emergency medicine) in Germany [7]. Students’ knowledge of emergency medicine continues to be solely assessed by means of multiple choice exams at 89% of German medical faculties [8,9]
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