Objective Structured Practical Examination Research Articles

Role of artificial intelligence (Google bard) in morphological, histopathological, and radiological image identifications: Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) type-based performance.

To evaluate the role of artificial intelligence (Google Bard) in figures, scans, and image identifications and interpretations in medical education and healthcare sciences through an Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) type of performance. The OSPE type of question bank was created with a pool of medical sciences figures, scans, and images. For assessment, 60 figures, scans and images were selected and entered into the given area of the Google Bard to evaluate the knowledge level. The marks obtained by Google Bard in brain structures, morphological and radiological images 7/10 (70%); bone structures, radiological images 9/10 (90%); liver structure and morphological, pathological images 4/10 (40%); kidneys structure and morphological images 2/7 (28.57%); neuro-radiological images 4/7 (57.14%); and endocrine glands including the thyroid, pancreas, breast morphological and radiological images 8/16 (50%). The overall total marks obtained by Google Bard in various OSPE figures, scans, and image identification questions were 34/60 (56.7%). Google Bard scored satisfactorily in morphological, histopathological, and radiological image identifications and their interpretations. Google Bard may assist medical students, faculty in medical education and physicians in healthcare settings.

A cross-sectional study on attitude and feedback of phase-II medical students on competency-based medical education

Background: Competency-based undergraduate curriculum has been introduced by MCI and it has been applicable since the 2019 batch of Indian medical graduates (IMG). There has been prototype move in learning from teacher centered to student centered. Aims and Objectives: The study intended to determine the attitude and feedback of Phase-II medical students regarding competency-based medical education (CBME). Materials and Methods: This research was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted online. Phase II medical students were required to complete an online survey through a Google form. The questions requested of the participants were to be answered on a Likert scale. The survey includes information regarding students’ perceptions of the foundation course’s framework, innovations in assessment methods, additional components of medical education based on competency, and overall study population attitude scores for diverse CBME components. Results: This study involved a total of 151 medical students. Regarding the perceptions of the framework of the foundation course, where 86.7% of participants supported basic life support training, 96% of participants supported field/health center visits, 83.4% of students were happy with their time management, and 92% of participants informed early clinical exposure was beneficial. The perception about innovations in assessment methods, where 83.4% were able to understand the assessment and feedback schemes, 58% supported questions with multiple choices in the curriculum, 75.5% stated that Objective Structured Practical Examination and Objective Structured Clinical Examination practical sessions were fruitful, 77.5% felt that medical college’s first phase is demanding intellectually, and 74.9% were accepted that vertical and horizontal integration lectures are helpful. Conclusion: The majority of students showed positive attitudes and feedback toward CBME but there are certain challenges such as difficulty with theory examination time management, having to maintain separate log books for each department, and expressing relevance about sports activities during weekdays.

Evaluation of parenteral injection skills of medical undergraduates on mannequins in a tertiary care teaching hospital in South India – A cross-sectional study

Abstract Appropriate knowledge and expertise of parenteral injection is vital in the medical field. Hence we impart training on mannequins before the students practice on patients. This study was conducted to evaluate the skill exhibited by the students in parenteral injection skills, namely intravenous, intramuscular, intradermal and subcutaneous injections. The students were assessed for step based on the pre-validated check list created for Objective Structured Practical Examination. In this study, 16 % of the students failed to check the prescription order before starting the procedure. The name and the expiry date of the drug was not checked by 22 % of the students. Hundred percent of the students sterilized their hands. Loading of drug was done properly by 80 % of the students and 88 % of the students checked for air bubbles in the syringe and removed them properly. The site for injection was not sterilized by 26 percent of the students. Tourniquet was not applied by 19 percent of the students and 28 % of the students did not hold the bevel up during insertion for intravenous route. The steps where frequent faltering happened needs to be emphasized for them to perform better in a more efficient manner during the summative assessment as well as for future practice.

OSPE as a Method of Learning and Assessment for Undergraduate Practical Pathology versus Traditional Learning and Assessment

Introduction: Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) is an effective method for formative and summative assessment of undergraduate students during practical examination. Aim: The aim of the study was to study the effectiveness of OSPE in the subject of Pathology and to evaluate them on the basis of these parameters, provide feedback on performance, evaluate on basis of practical skills and measure minimal competences. Materials and methods: This study was conducted among a total of 120 M.B.B.S. students during their second year of MBBS course. OSPE based practical examination was carried out followed by a close ended questionnaire to evaluate student’s perception regarding the same. Results: OSPE was seen as a useful exercise by 83 % of the students. Feedback from the undergraduate students put forward that 17 % students felt that OSPE was an objective tool in evaluating practical skills. Conclusion: OSPE is a more valid and beneficial learning tool according to the students as well as faculty. Keywords: Objective structured practical examination, Pathology, Medical education, Teaching tool

Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) as a Tool for the Formative Assessment of Practical Skills in the Subject of Physiology: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Practical assessments hold a critical role in evaluating medical education. However, achieving objectivity, consistency, authenticity, reliability, and practical usefulness in student evaluations can be a formidable challenge. The Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) stands out as a promising technique tailored to assess performance in a realistic educational setting. OSPE offers a unique approach to aligning assessment methods with the educational objectives of a given activity, making it possible to comprehensively gauge the attainment of pedagogical goals. This study aimed to overcome the limitations associated with traditional practical tests and explore the potential advantages of OSPE in improving the objectivity, consistency, authenticity, and reliability of student evaluations in the context of medical education. Through a comparative analysis, this research endeavors to illuminate the practical applicability of OSPE. The primary goal of this research was to introduce and assess the feasibility of employing the OSPE as a formative assessment tool for appraising the practical capabilities of Physiology students. Fifty students from 1st year MBBS were included in this study after their written consent. They were divided into two groups of 25 students each; two practical procedures, (a) hemoglobin estimation, and (b) performing blood group. Students were assessed at two different sessions. Students of each group assessed by the conventional method in the first session were assessed by OSPE in the second session of the same practical and vice versa. At the completion of the assessment process, both students and teachers were asked to rate the various assessment techniques on a Likert scale. Student test results and instructor and student opinions were statistically examined using the paired t-test. A significance level of 0.05 was used. When evaluated using the OSPE method, students obtained significantly higher mean marks (12.58±2.74) compared to the conventional assessment method (8.44±2.13). A paired t-test confirmed the statistical significance of the improvement in student performance with OSPE (p<0.0001). Student feedback indicated strong agreement (92%) that OSPE encourages greater focus on practical examinations and is an effective assessment and learning method. Teachers expressed unanimous agreement that OSPE is a more comprehensive evaluation tool (100%) and better at highlighting student strengths and weaknesses (75%). The majority of teachers (75%) believed that OSPE should be incorporated into future examinations. The study demonstrates that OSPE significantly enhances student performance and is well-received by both students and teachers as a more effective and comprehensive assessment method.

An objective structured practical examination for laboratory skills in a pharmacy technician programme

Background: Pharmacy technician education is typically at the pre-degree level and comprises instruction in scientific and clinical disciplines. The assessment of practical laboratory skills often utilises attainment-referenced methods, which are not always appropriate for vocationally-focused programmes. Methods: An objective structured practical examination (OSPE) was introduced to assess student competency in three key areas (accurate weighing, calibrating a pH meter and performing a dilution). Students were assessed using weighted criterion-based assessment criteria and an overall global performance rating, which allowed cut scores to be determined using a borderline regression method. Student opinions were collected using online questionnaires on a five-point Likert scale. Results: The move to OSPEs did not significantly alter the distribution of student results from previous years (mean ± SD, OSPE vs legacy: 77 ± 19% vs 73 ± 21%), suggesting that academic integrity was maintained. There was a high level of consistency in Likert score responses (Cronbach’s α = 0.823), with students clearly favouring the OSPE approach. Conclusion: The move to an OSPE-based assessment was successful and provided a basis for the development of similar assessment strategies in the pharmacy technician programme.

Automated grading of anatomical objective structured practical examinations using decision trees: An artificial intelligence approach.

An Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) is an effective and robust, but resource-intensive, means of evaluating anatomical knowledge. Since most OSPEs employ short answer or fill-in-the-blank style questions, the format requires many people familiar with the content to mark the examinations. However, the increasing prevalence of online delivery for anatomy and physiology courses could result in students losing the OSPE practice that they would receive in face-to-face learning sessions. The purpose of this study was to test the accuracy of Decision Trees (DTs) in marking OSPE questions as a first step to creating an intelligent, online OSPE tutoring system. The study used the results of the winter 2020 semester final OSPE from McMaster University's anatomy and physiology course in the Faculty of Health Sciences (HTHSCI 2FF3/2LL3/1D06) as the data set. Ninety percent of the data set was used in a 10-fold validation algorithm to train a DT for each of the 54 questions. Each DT was comprised of unique words that appeared in correct, student-written answers. The remaining 10% of the data set was marked by the generated DTs. When the answers marked by the DT were compared to the answers marked by staff and faculty, the DT achieved an average accuracy of 94.49% across all 54 questions. This suggests that machine learning algorithms such as DTs are a highly effective option for OSPE grading and are suitable for the development of an intelligent, online OSPE tutoring system.

Students' performance of and perspective on an objective structured practical examination for the assessment of preclinical and practical skills in biomedical laboratory science students in Sweden: a 5-year longitudinal study.

It aims to find students' performance of and perspectives on an objective structured practical examination (OSPE) for assessment of laboratory and preclinical skills in biomedical laboratory science (BLS). It also aims to investigate the perception, acceptability, and usefulness of OSPE from the students' and examiners' point of view. This was a longitudinal study to implement an OSPE in BLS. The student group consisted of 198 BLS students enrolled in semester 4, 2015-2019 at Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Sweden. Fourteen teachers evaluated the performance by completing a checklist and global rating scales. A student survey questionnaire was administered to the participants to evaluate the student perspective. To assess quality, 4 independent observers were included to monitor the examiners. Almost 50% of the students passed the initial OSPE. During the repeat OSPE, 73% of the students passed the OSPE. There was a statistically significant difference between the first and the second repeat OSPE (P<0.01) but not between the first and the third attempt (P=0.09). The student survey questionnaire was completed by 99 of the 198 students (50%) and only 63 students responded to the free-text questions (32%). According to these some stations were perceived as more difficult, albeit they considered the assessment to be valid. The observers found the assessment protocols and examiner's instructions assured the objectivity of the examination. The introduction of an OSPE in the education of biomedical laboratory scientists was a reliable, and useful examination of practical skills.

Fine-tuning the standard setting of objective structured practical examinations in clinical anatomy.

The objective structured practical examination (OSPE) is a reliable assessment of practical skills in anatomy teaching. It is often administered as low-stake assessments to track progress at multiple time points in anatomy curricula. Standard-setting OSPEs to derive a pass mark and to ensure assessment quality and rigor is a complex task. This study compared standard-setting outcomes of clinical anatomy OSPEs determined by traditional criterion-referenced (Ebel) and norm-referenced ("mean minus standard deviation") methods in comparison to hybrid methods which apply both criterion-referenced and norm-referenced approaches in setting examination standards. The hybrid approaches utilized included the "Cohen method" and an adaptation of the "Taylor's method," which is an improvement on the Cohen method. These diverse standard-setting methods were applied retrospectively to 16 anatomy OSPEs conducted over 4 years for first- and second-year medical students in a graduate Doctor of Medicine Program at Griffith Medical School, Australia; and the pass marks, failure rates, and variances of failure rates were compared. The application of the adaptation of Taylor's method to standard set OSPEs produced pass marks and failure rates comparable to the Ebel method, whereas the variability of failure rates was higher with the Ebel method than with the Cohen and Taylor's methods. This underscores this study's adaptation of Taylor's method as a suitable alternative to the widely accepted but resource intensive, panel-based criterion-referenced standard-setting methods such as the Ebel method, where panelists with relevant expertise are unavailable, particularly for the multiple low-stakes OSPEs in an anatomy curriculum.

Perception of students about objective structured pattern of examination for summative assessment in pharmacology department

Background: Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) is globally implemented and beneficial system that is utilized for assessing students in practical examination. It is used to assess the competency based on objective testing through direct observation. It comprised several “Stations,” in which examinees are expected to perform variety of practical tasks within specified time period against criteria formulated to practical skill, thus demonstrating competency of skills or attitude. OSPE is very useful to evaluate their ability to obtain or interpret data, solve the problem, teach, and communicate. Aims and Objectives: The primary objective is to obtain student’s perception toward OSPE and study the effectiveness of OSPE as a tool for summative assessment also quality care assurance of OSPE. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in January 2022 at our institute. A total 197 students were enrolled after obtaining verbal consent for summative assessment (University Exam). The assessment was carried out for 4 days with different batches per day. Each student attended six different OSPE stations. Data collection was done using a structured questionnaire from students. Perception of students was assessed on the basis of 5-point Likert-scale. Results: Majority of students (82%) agreed that the sequence of stations was appropriate. For instance, they also agreed (82%) that time allotted at stations was adequate. Regarding examination environment, 83% of students agree that it was appropriate for the conduct of exam. Majority (79%) number of students agreed that OSPE helps to evaluate wide range of knowledge. About 81% of students felt that stations covered major competencies. Conclusion: Although OSPE is a laborious and time intensive assessment tool, the present study showed several advantages of OSPE as a structural, organized, and fair assessment method for summative assessment.

Pharmaceutical microbiology in pharmacy education: Operational process of an objective structured practical examination (OSPE) in Universiti Teknologi MARA

Objective structured practical examinations (OSPEs) have been implemented as a standard practice in most medical and health science schools worldwide to assess competencies in laboratory skills. A practical examination would improve students’ understanding of the experiment they conduct and help build confidence and competency for future application. With the expanding roles of a pharmacist, it is important to strengthen students’ skill set during pharmacy education. This article reports the procedures and findings after conducting OSPE for the subject of pharmaceutical microbiology and parasitology in the Faculty of Pharmacy at Universiti Teknologi MARA for three years (2017-2019). There is a significant difference in OSPE performance between the years 2017, 2018, and 2019. The addition of OSPE, while does not significantly change the median marks, is able to better define the students’ performance and grade. The conclusion is that the students were able to adapt to the added examination and benefit from the experience.

Objective structured practical examination versus conventional method: Students’ choice

Background: Since the introduction of competency-based medical education in the medical curriculum all over India, emphasis has been given not only toward cognitive but also skill development of the undergraduate learners of the MBBS course. The traditional teaching methods are modified encouraging more interactive sessions, self-directed learning, and early clinical exposures. The assessment methods have also experienced certain modifications. For evaluation of the practical knowledge of the students in pre- and paraclinical departments, objective structured practical examination (OSPE) is being employed in several medical institutions. However, the question of its superiority and acceptability in comparison with the conventional practical examination exists there. Aims and Objectives: The present study aimed to estimate the perception and acceptance among the students regarding these two assessment methods. Materials and Methods: The 1st year undergraduate students of the Malda Medical College, Malda, were chosen for the study. After their prior sensitization regarding the two assessment methods, the students were given a feedback questionnaire having 15 questions made from different angles to compare the two modes of assessment. The results are subsequently analyzed. Results: The students (98%) marked OSPE as a more objective way of assessment, which also helps improve practical skills and confidence. They (95%) also recommended the implementation of OSPE in their practical examination. Conclusion: The majority of the students opined positively in favor of OSPE and stated their acceptance and recommendation in this respect.

Preferences of dental undergraduate students regarding assessment and learning approach: A cross-sectional study

Background: Assessment is a vital component of a curriculum. Assessment is considered to drive learning. Students’ views and perception about assessment and learning can help us understand how student perceive and approach their learning. Objective: The present study was designed with an objective to gain insight into dental undergraduate students’ assessment and learning approach preferences. Materials and Methods: A close-ended questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate dental students. Informed consent was taken from all the study subjects. The study population consisted of 382 dental students from two dental institutes that were enrolled using a systematic random sampling methodology. Statistical analysis was done using Pearson’s Chi-square test and multivariate analysis was performed using binary logistic regression. Results: Formative assessment in the form of assignment/written test was considered as most useful by 62.4% (239) of subjects. Multiple choice questions (MCQs) were rated as very useful by 56.2% (214) and useful by 36.8% (141) of subjects. Equal number of subjects (50%) considered oral viva and objective structured practical examination (OSPE)/objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) as useful. Subjects studying in 1st institute were more likely to rate various assessment methods/tools as very useful and useful as compared to subjects studying in 2nd institute. Conclusion: Necessary reforms need to be incorporated into the dental curriculum in India. There is a strong need to make assessment continuous and formative as well as incorporate newer assessment tools such as MCQs and OSPE/OSCE to enhance and optimize the learning process of dental students.

Effectiveness of conducting online objective structured practical examination (OSPE) in anatomy among first year medical undergraduates

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of conducting an online OSPE (Objective Structured Practical Examination) in Anatomy for first year medical students. Material and Methods: Following a 2-week prior notice, 222 first-year medical undergraduates who had undergone exclusively online learning for one semester, were subjected to an online OSPE conducted via conferencing platform. Subsequently, student feedback was obtained via a google form regarding exam environment, prior preparation, clarity of images, and technical problems faced during the exam. SPSS Version 25 was used for descriptive analysis and one-sample T-test was used to compare the results with a previous batch that underwent onsite face-to-face teaching and examinations. Results: Satisfaction with images of gross anatomy specimens, radiographs, and histology slides were 48.2%, 90.5%, and 76.6% respectively. A majority agreed that the OSPE helped them to improve their knowledge (92.8%) and intrigued interest in the subject, motivating them to study (83.8%). Compared to a previous batch that underwent onsite teaching and examination, the performance of the students in this group was significantly lower (p&lt;0.001). Conclusion: The lower performance of the students faced with the online OSPE may be due to learning anatomy only using online platforms hindering the three-dimensional understanding of Anatomy, short preparation time, and inexperience at facing online examinations. Even though technology-based learning and examination techniques have developed with the recent COVID 19 pandemic, it cannot yet replace the traditional methods in teaching and examination in Anatomy. However, this study shows that conducting online examinations is feasible with only 34.7% of students reporting minor technical difficulties.

On the added benefit of virtual anatomy for dissection-based skills.

Technological approaches deploying three-dimensional visualization to integrate virtual anatomy are increasingly used to provide medical students with state-of-the-art teaching. It is unclear to date to which extent virtual anatomy may help replace the dissection course. Medical students of Johannes Kepler University attend both a dissection and a virtual anatomy course. This virtual anatomy course is based on Cinematic Rendering and radiological imaging and teaches anatomy and pathology. This study aims to substantiate student benefits achieved from this merged teaching approach. Following their dissection course, 120 second-year students took part in objective structured practical examinations (OSPE) conducted on human specimens prior to and following a course on Cinematic Rendering virtual anatomy. Likert-based and open-ended surveys were conducted to evaluate student perceptions of both courses and their utility. Virtual anatomy teaching was found to be unrelated to improvements in student's ability to identify anatomical structures in anatomical prosections, yielding only a 1.5% increase in the OSPE score. While the students rated the dissection course as being more important and impactful, the virtual anatomy course helped them display the learning content in a more comprehensible and clinically applicable way. It is likely that Cinematic Rendering-based virtual anatomy affects knowledge gain in domains other than the recognition of anatomical structures in anatomical prosections. These findings underline students' preference for the pedagogic strategy of the dissection course and for blending this classical approach with novel developments like Cinematic Rendering, thus preparing future doctors for their clinical work.

Facilitating technology-enhanced external examination moderation during the Covid-19 pandemic

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and associated travel restrictions, the physical presence of international external examiners was a challenge when assessing the exit level outcomes of the MSc (Dent) in Paediatric Dentistry at the University of the Western Cape. External moderation of final examinations ensure an acceptable standard, coverage of content as specified by the programme outcomes and eliminates bias during assessment. Internationalization of the moderation andexamination process allows countries to compare and maintain international standards and graduate attributes expected for professional qualifications.Qualifications requiring assessment of skills often rely on ObjectiveStructured Clinical Examinations, Objective Structured Practical Examinations and simulated cases in combination with an oral examination, which requires the presence of all examiners to assess the student. This paper describes how the final examination in this MSc (Dent) degree was adapted and conducted in order to overcome the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, to maintain the academic integrity and rigour of the programme. A narrative essay-style approach was adopted, which reflects on the challenges and opportunities created by Covid-19. The adapted assessment method proved to be an effective alternative to the more traditional assessment approaches employed pre-Covid.

Exam Anxiety among Medical Students in Dhaka City and Its Associated Factors-A Cross-sectional Study

Exam anxiety can be term as a mental disorder found in most students. It is a kind of fear and scaredness for which students choose to avoid the feared situations such as exams. A little bit of anxiety is common before and during the examination. Still, it can negatively impact their mental health and academic performances when it is more than the threshold level. The reasons might be expectations and pressure from parents and for competition with other peers. A cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students of Dhaka City in Bangladesh to see the status of examination phobia as they were usually going through lots of exam pressure than any other students. A structured questionnaire was used to conduct this study. WATS (West Side Test Anxiety Scale) was incorporated into the questionnaire to assess the phobia and anxiety levels of the students. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were performed for intensive analysis. Medical students must go through several different kinds of exams such as oral examination (viva), written, objective structured practical examination (OSPE), practical, short case, long case; all these things together play a contributing role in the induction of anxiety. More than 30% of students were suffering from moderate to severe examination anxiety, which compelled them to dropout or avoid the potential exams. The findings of this research can contribute significant impact on public health and mental health studies and the mental health professionals can provide policy guideline to the medical student to reduce exam anxiety. Further study needs to be done on a large scale to see a broad-spectrum scenario to assess the severity level of test anxiety and mental health status in the in the COVID-19 pandemic changing situation.

Evaluation of the Experience of Peer-led Mock Objective Structured Practical Examination for First- and Second-year Medical Students.

BackgroundThe objective structured practical examination (OSPE) is used as an assessment tool of laboratory practical sessions. This study described the design and implementation of peer-led mock OSPE for first- and second-year medical students, investigated the perception of the students of the peer-led mock OSPE and the impact of attending the mock OSPE on the performance.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study. Two mock OSPEs were designed and conducted by third-, fourth- and fifth- year medical students for year one and two. Each mock OSPE involved six stations. Thirty-three medical students facilitated the OSPE. The OSPEs were conducted prior to the summative end of block exams. Following the mock OSPEs, an online survey was sent to the participants to assess their satisfaction, quality and benefits of the mock OSPE. The study also evaluated the impact of the mock OSPE on students’ performance.ResultsOut of 313 first-year students, 279 (89.1%) attended the mock OSPE and out of 298 second-year students, 213 (71.5%) attended. A total of 192 (68.8%) first-year medical students and 102 (47.9%) second-year medical students completed the questionnaire. There was no significant difference between attending and non-attending the mock OSPE in the students’ performance in the summative OSPE. The majority of students felt more confident, less anxious, and lowered the levels of stress after attending the mock OSPE. More than half of the students felt that attending the mock OSPE helped in easing the steps, better preparation, provided sufficient orientation, well explained the materials and helped them to learn the concept of the final OSPE. The majority of students found the mock OSPE stimulating.ConclusionAttending the mock OSPE did not affect the students’ performance in the summative OSPE. However, the peer-assessed mock OSPE improved the medical students’ confidence and lowered the anxiety associated with OSPE.

Impact, impression, and innovations of objective structured practical examination in biochemistry curriculum of medical undergraduates

Background: In the recent years, there is a huge paradigm shift of medical education in India from curriculum-based learning to learner-centered and time independent competency-based medical education. This paradigm shift was to rear and trains medical graduates to function as physician of first contact being globally acceptable. Due to this, the felt need of the hour was to find an assessment tool that is valid, reliable, devoid of subjective bias, and has the capabilities to assess the cognitive, psychomotor, and effective domain. Aims and Objectives: In this context, this study was done to assess the impression and impact of objective structured practical examination (OSPE) in comparison to conventional practical examination (CPE). Due to the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19, there was some scope of organizing OSPE in virtual mode. Materials and Methods: The study involved of 250 Phase I medical undergraduates of Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College. The response stations included charts, clinical problems, graphs, pictures, and critical analysis of reports. Results: The mean scores in OSPE were higher than CPE. In our study, 51.3% strongly voiced that conducting OSPE was more scientific with uniformity in evaluation. Conclusion: OSPE was preferred by the students as an assessment tool. Moreover, OSPE had a scope to be organized in Virtual mode.

OSPE for non-surgical aesthetic training programme.

Objective structured practical examination (OSPE) has proven a reliable assessment tool in many specialities. Therefore, we aimed to construct an OSPE tool that could assess the clinical facial anatomy knowledge of non-surgical aesthetic practitioners in a simulated environment. Ten subject matter experts identified the themes individually with significant experience in teaching non-surgical aesthetic practitioners. A consensus is then reached following extensive discussion to determine the final themes. After blueprinting, 25 stations were created comprising a single best answer with a clinical vignette and either a dissected Cephalus or a high-resolution picture of a dissected Cephalus or a skull and a full-face photograph of a patient. Finally, concurrent and construct validity were assessed for individual questions. Twenty-five novices and 25 experts participated in the OSPE pilot. Each cycle lasted 45 minutes (90 seconds per station; 25 clinical and five rest stations). Internal reliability was measured by Cronbach's alpha. In addition, the novices and experts group scores were compared, employing an independent t-test. The mean item difficulty of the 25 questions was 0.65. There was a significant difference in the scores for experts (M =48.56, SD =1.003), novices (M =33.60, SD =3.18) and conditions; t (48) = 22.38, p = 0.000. These results suggest the construct validity and confirm the robustness of the OSPE set-up to accomplish the learning outcomes. We successfully designed and validated OSPE as an assessment tool to examine non-surgical aesthetic practitioners' clinical facial anatomy knowledge. We envisage using OSPE in our future programmes and encourage programme directors to integrate it into the postgraduate curriculum in non-surgical aesthetics.