Objective Structured Clinical Examination Preparation Research Articles

The Impact of Online vs Blended Clinical Skill Laboratory Learning on Student Academic Performance: A Case Study in Indonesia

ObjectiveOnline and blended learning methods have experienced rapid growth in higher education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study aimed to compare students’ academic performance between online and blended Clinical Skill Laboratories (CSL) learning in undergraduate medical students. MethodsA total of 101 undergraduate medical students at Maulana Malik Ibrahim State Islamic University, Malang, Indonesia, were enrolled (50 students from the academic year 2020 [group 1: online CSL]; 51 students from the academic year 2020 [group 2: blended CSL]). The main outcome was students’ academic performance collected from the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) score. Additionally, students also completed an evaluation questionnaire to assess the quality of the learning scheme. ResultsBoth groups agreed that CSL is an important subject and clinical video demonstration is useful for their OSCE preparation. However, students who received online learning felt that online CSL was ineffective and scored lower in the OSCE compared to the blended CSL. Qualitative data also supported these findings. ConclusionBlended learning provides more value than online learning in terms of teaching clinical skills for undergraduate medical students. Additionally, online CSL may not be sufficient for medical students to attain critical skills.

Attracting and retaining nurses through a clinical fellowship programme.

Shortages in nursing are the single biggest and most urgent workforce issue that the NHS needs to address. This article sets out the early success of the Nurse Clinical Fellowship Programme established by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. The unique programme aims to attract and retain nurses by offering a staff nurse post with supported access to academia, fully funded by the NHS Trust. To date, the Trust has attracted 90 nurses (both UK and international registered nurses) to the programme. The programme is also offered internally and the Trust has a cohort of 10 internal nursing staff enrolled onto the programme completing either their BSc (top-up) or Masters, with a second cohort of 60 internal nurses due to start in September 2019. To support international registered nurses with demonstrating their competence to meet Nursing and Midwifery Council requirements the Trust has also established an objective structured clinical examination preparation course designed to embrace and enhance the existing knowledge and skills, while guiding staff in transferring these in line with UK and Trust policies and practices.

How the introduction of OSCEs has affected the time students spend studying: results of a nationwide study

BackgroundMedical schools globally now use objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) for assessing a student’s clinical performance. In Germany, almost all of the 36 medical schools have incorporated at least one summative OSCE into their clinical curriculum. This nationwide study aimed to examine whether the introduction of OSCEs shifted studying time. The authors explored what resources were important for studying in preparation for OSCEs, how much time students spent studying, and how they performed; each compared to traditionally used multiple choice question (MCQ) tests.MethodsThe authors constructed a questionnaire comprising two identical sections, one for each assessment method. Either section contained a list of 12 study resources requesting preferences on a 5-point scale, and two open-ended questions about average studying time and average grades achieved. During springtime of 2015, medical schools in Germany were asked to administer the web-based questionnaire to their students in years 3–6. Statistical analysis compared the responses on the open-ended questions between the OSCE and MCQs using a paired t-test.ResultsThe sample included 1131 students from 32 German medical schools. Physical examination courses were most important in preparation for OSCEs, followed by class notes/logs and the skills lab. Other activities in clinical settings (e.g. medical clerkships) and collaborative strategies ranked next. Conversely, resources for gathering knowledge (e.g. lectures or textbooks) were of minor importance when studying for OSCEs. Reported studying time was lower for OSCEs compared to MCQ tests. The reported average grade, however, was better on OSCEs.ConclusionsThe study findings suggest that the introduction of OSCEs shifted studying time. When preparing for OSCEs students focus on the acquisition of clinical skills and need less studying time to achieve the expected level of competence/performance, as compared to the MCQ tests.

Web-Based Immersive Patient Simulator as a Curricular Tool for Objective Structured Clinical Examination Preparation in Surgery: Development and Evaluation.

BackgroundObjective Structured Clinical Examination is a standard method of testing declarative and process knowledge in clinical core competencies. It is desirable that students undergo Objective Structured Clinical Examination training before participating in the exam. However, establishing Objective Structured Clinical Examination training is resource intensive and therefore there is often limited practice time. Web-based immersive patient simulators such as ALICE (Artificial Learning Interface of Clinical Education) can possibly fill this gap as they allow for the training of complex medical procedures at the user’s individual pace and with an adaptable number of repetitions at home. ALICE has previously been shown to positively influence knowledge gain and motivation.ObjectiveTherefore, the aim of this study was to develop a Web-based curriculum that teaches declarative and process knowledge and prepares students for a real Objective Structured Clinical Examination station. Furthermore, we wanted to test the influence of ALICE on knowledge gain and student motivation.MethodsA specific curriculum was developed in order to implement the relevant medical content of 2 surgical Objective Structured Clinical Examination stations into the ALICE simulator framework. A total of 160 medical students were included in the study, where 100 students had access to ALICE and their performance was compared to 60 students in a control group. The simulator performance was validated on different levels and students’ knowledge gain and motivation were tested at different points during the study.ResultsThe curriculum was developed according to the Kern cycle. Four virtual clinical cases were implemented with different teaching methods (structured feedback, keynote speech, group discussion, and debriefing by a real instructor) in order to consolidate declarative and process knowledge. Working with ALICE had significant impact on declarative knowledge gain and Objective Structured Clinical Examination performance. Simulator validation was positive for face, content, construct, and predictive validity. Students showed high levels of motivation and enjoyed working with ALICE.ConclusionsALICE offers Web-based training for Objective Structured Clinical Examination preparation and can be used as a selective didactic intervention as it has positive effect on knowledge gain and student motivation.

Lecturers’ experiences and perspectives of using an objective structured clinical examination

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings that emerged from a qualitative study which explored nurse educators' experiences and perspectives of assessing students' clinical competence using an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), and to address the challenges pertaining to the assessment. OSCEs have been researched internationally; however, exploration within an Irish context is limited. The current study is timely as the findings are relevant in light of the ongoing debate about OSCEs. The data for this study was collected using two focus groups in one institution in the Republic of Ireland. Two main themes emerged: OSCE preparation and assessment process. It is envisaged that the outcome of this study will enable nurse educators to recognise both the potential and the contribution of OSCEs to the curriculum and motivate nurse educators to increase students' exposure to this assessment strategy. The need to adapt and become cognisant of the major changes in the 'real' healthcare world will continue to challenge nurse educators.