The Use of Structured Oral Exams for the Assessment of Medical Students in their Radiology Clerkship

Abstract

There is increasing interest in narrative feedback and competency-based evaluation in medical student education. This study evaluates the implementation of a structured oral exam for a required radiology clerkship in furtherance of these aims. A structured oral exam was instituted in academic year (AY) 20-21. Students prepared to discuss 5 varied imaging cases as they would to a medical colleague and as to a patient. For AY 20-21, students took the oral and a written exam. In AY 21-22, students took the oral exam alone and the written exam was discontinued. The perceived educational value of clerkship components, including the oral and written exam, were scored by the students on a 5-point Likert scale. All students in AY 20-21 received a passing score on the written (mean 89.0, SD 4.59) and oral exams. All students in AY 21-22 received a passing score on the oral exam. In AY 20-21, the educational value of the oral exam was rated significantly higher than that of the written exam (4.30 vs 4.02, P=0.021). There was no significant difference in rating of the oral exam between AY 20-21 and AY 21-22 (4.30 vs 4.38; P=0.499). The implementation of a structured final oral exam for a required radiology clerkship was felt to be successful in the aims of delivering educational value while evaluating students for competency. Further evaluation of oral exams for radiology medical student education are warranted to optimize the career preparation of future physicians.