Undergraduate dentistry student’s perception on objective structured practical examination (OSPE): A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Assessment for practical skills in dental education needs improvement from subjective methods to objective ones. An OSPE has been considered as one such method. This study is an attempt to evaluate the feasibility of OSPE as a tool for the formative assessment of undergraduate medical education in Dental Material. Thirty-two students of Second BDS, at the end of the first term, were assessed by both the conventional practical examination (CPE) and OSPE. A five-station question based & practical skill evaluation based OSPE was conducted one week after the conventional examination in Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics of our institute. The scores obtained in both exams by these thirty-two students were compared. Feedback of participating students was evaluated in this interventional study. The steps involved were Sensitization of faculty and students; Preparation of five OSPE stations; Preparation phase and content validation of questionnaire for students. Feedback was given to students which will be useful to them in their subsequent and final university exams. The difference in marks was insignificant when paired t test was applied. Regarding the students’ perceptions of OSPE when compared to CPE, 78% responded that OSPE could partially or completely replace CPE. OSPE was judged as an objective and unbiased assessment as compared to CPE, by 84% of the students.