ABSTRACT
Clinical communication and professionalism are among the primary medical competencies and therefore must have guaranteed assessment. In this context, the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) plays an important role.
Objectives
To describe the steps of developing an OSCE, as well as evaluating the quality of the stations and the medical student’s view of the OSCE.
Method
The study involved an OSCE with four stations performed by 16 medical students, psychometric quality analysis and the application of a user satisfaction questionnaire.
Results
For the students, the OSCE is the best assessment and teaching method for these skills, whereas multiple choice tests are at the worst form of assessment. Regarding the multiple quality of the stations, two showed good reliability, one became satisfactory following adjustment and one was inconsistent.
Conclusion
Although highly rated by the students some of the stations were flawed. Analysis of the OSCE is essential for its validity and measurability, especially for high stakes OSCEs.
Evaluation; Health Communication; Medical Education; Patient Simulation; Professional Competence