This document discusses the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) as a tool for assessing clinical competence. It defines the OSCE as a multidimensional practical exam of clinical skills. The purposes of the OSCE are to identify objective performance criteria for clinical skills, structure these criteria in checklists, and meet accreditation requirements. Examples of skills assessed include history taking, physical exams, clinical problem solving, and procedures. The document also outlines how to organize an OSCE and provides examples of exam stations. Both advantages like reliability and ability to test a wide range of skills as well as disadvantages like time demands are discussed.
3. DEFINITION OF OSCE
“A multi dimensional practical
examination of clinical skills , as a
tool for assessing clinical
competence”
4. PURPOSES OF OSCE
1.Use in both formative and summative assessment in
health profession education
2.Identify objective performance criteria for the skill being
examined
3.structured the performance criteria in checklist to
facilitate the identification of desired clinical skill
4.A requirement for accreditation in many health
professional programs
5. USES OF OSCE
• Interpersonal and communication skills
• History-taking skills
• Physical examination of specific body systems
• Mental health assessment
• Clinical decision making, including the formation of
differential diagnosis
• Clinical problem-solving skills .
•
6. CONT..
Interpretation of clinical findings and
investigations.
Management of a clinical situation, including
treatment and referral
Patient education .
Health promotion.
Acting safely and appropriately in an urgent
clinical situation.
Basic and advanced nursing care procedure
practices.
7. ORGANIZING THE OSCE
• The OSCE examination consists of about 10-15
stations, each of which requires about 4-5 minutes.
The number of stations and time spent on each
station may vary based on needs of evaluation.
• All stations should be capable of being completed in
the same time.
• The students are rotated through all stations and
have to move to the next station at the signal.
8. CONT..
• As the stations are generally independent,
students can start at any procedure stations and
complete the cycle.
•Thus, using 15 stations of 4 minutes each, 15
students can complete the examination within 1
hour.
• Each station is designed to test a
component of clinical competence.
10. Problems of using OSCE in the
Indian scenario
• Lack of feasibility due to time constrains.
• Shortage of training for use of OSCE.
• Shortage of observers/examiners.
• Lack of interest in examiners.
• Lack of enforced guidelines for practical
examination by universities number of students
examined and format of evaluation used
11. Advantages of OSCE
1.More valid than the traditional approach to
clinical examinations.
2.Examiners can decide in advance what is to he
tested and can then design the examination to test
these competencies.
3.Examiners can have better control on the
content and complexities.
4. Emphasis can be moved away from testing
factual knowledge to testing a wide range of skills
including advanced clinical skills.
12. CONT..
5.More reliable because variables of the examiner and
the patient are removed to a large extent.
6. The use of checklists by examiners and the use of
multiple choice questions results in a more objective
examination.
7. More practical because it can be used with a large
numbers of students.
13. DISADVANTAGES OF OSCE
• Demanding for both examiners and patients.
• Examiners are required to pay close attention to
students repeating the same task on a number of
occasions.
• The time involved in setting up the examination is
greater than for the traditional examination.
14. CONCLUSION
TheOSCE hasseveraldistinct advantages.In view of these,
the nurse educators can adopt it asan objective method for
clinical evaluation. This will help the students to improve
their clinical competence. The emphasis is on assessing what
students cando rather than what they know.Therefore, O S
C E gives direction for attaining the ultimate aim of the
teaching- learningprocess
15. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.Jaspreet K S, Comprehensive Textbook of Nursing
Education,First edition 2017, Jaypee Publication, Page No.219-222
2.Suresh K S, Communication And Education Technology In
Nursing, second Edition 2015,Elsevier publication,Page No.397-403
3.R Sudha,Nursing education principles and concepts,Frist Edition
2013, Jaypee Publication, Page No.187-188
4.http://www.oscehome.com/What_is_Objective-Structured-
Clinical-Examination_OSCE.html
5 http://www.oscepass.com/
16. RESEARCH ARTICLE
Objective Structured Clinical Examination: The Assessment of Choice
Marliyya Zayyan*
Abstract
The Objective Structured Clinical Examination is a versatile multipurpose
evaluative tool that can be utilized to assess health care professionals in
a clinical setting. It assesses competency, based on objective testing
through direct observation. It is precise, objective, and reproducible
allowing uniform testing of students for a wide range of clinical skills.
Unlike the traditional clinical exam, the OSCE could evaluate areas most
critical to performance of health care professionals such as
communication skills and ability to handle unpredictable patient
behavior.
