Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) including critical simulation: Evaluation of medical student competence

Ming-Chen Hsieh^{a, b, c}, Wei-Chun Cheng^d, Tsung-Ying Chen^{a, b, d}

^a Department of Medical Education, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan
^b Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
^c Department of Curriculum Design and Human Potentials Development, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, Taiwan
^d Department of Anesthesiology, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan

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Abstract
Objectives

To develop an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) station to assess the evaluation skills of medical students in applying evidence and appropriate treatment options in critical situations with a simulated patient. To assess the results using discrimination and reliability comparison of standardized and simulated patient stations.

Materials and Methods

OSCE performance scores of 58 7th-year medical students at the University of Tzu-Chi School of Medicine were analyzed from April 10, 2011 to April 11, 2011 using descriptive statistics and item discrimination. Thirteen OSCE cases were identified for evaluation; we compared the results of all the stations to those of the station with the critical clinical scenario.

Results

Discrimination statistics indicated that only the critical scenario station prepared with a high-fidelity simulator was effective in distinguishing between high-scoring and low-scoring medical students.

Conclusion

Failure to design a skill assessment tool is a missed opportunity to understand more fully and apply the results of the clinical performance of medical students.

Keywords
Assessment; Critical condition; Objective Structured Clinical Examination