Assessing the Impact of a Student-Led Mock Objective Structured Clinical Examinations

Authors Alexander Gonzalez-Lamberth, Myles Rice, Jonathan Haddad, Risako Sakatsume, Aahil Damani

King’s College London Medical School

Introduction

References

1 - Gormley G. Summative OSCEs in undergraduate medical education. Ulster Med J. 2011;80(3):127–32.

2 - Burgess A, McGregor D, Mellis C. Medical students as peer tutors: a systematic review. BMC Med Educ. 2014 Jun 9;14:115. doi: 10.1186/1472-6920-14-115. PMID: 24912500; PMCID: PMC4237985.

This study aims to assess the impact and viability of a student-led mock Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) design, as well as explore medical students' perceptions of peer-led OSCEs. OSCEs are known to induce stress among medical students due to their challenging format and limited practice opportunities1 . While peer-led teaching has been proven to be a valuable and cost effective tool in education, its specific value for OSCEs remains understudied2 .

Methods:

Two 6-station Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) were created by final-year medical students who had successfully completed a similar OSCE at the same level as the participants. To administer the OSCEs, students were enlisted to serve as examiners, actors, and facilitators, managing a total of 12 OSCE stations across a span of two days. The study involved 25 medical students who took part in the OSCEs and provided feedback through completion of feedback forms. The collected Likert data was analysed, and themes were identified by conducting thematic analysis on the open text feedback.

Results:

All 25 participants completed the post-OSCE feedback form. 100% of participants said that they would want to participate in further student-led OSCE style simulation sessions. The main themes from the feedback were that the OSCEs were well-organised, helpful, and good at highlighting areas for improvement.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates the positive impact and viability of incorporating student-led practice OSCEs into medical education. Participants found the student led OSCEs to be well-organised, helpful, and good at highlighting areas for improvement. These findings highlight the acceptability and benefits of student led OSCEs, providing controlled practice environments and reducing stress and anxiety for medical students.

Limitations

The recruitment process followed a first-come-first-served approach, resulting in a convenience sample that carries the potential for sampling bias. It is possible that students who volunteered for the mock OSCE may have been more inclined to perceive it as a valuable learning experience, regardless of the actual design of the mock OSCE. Additionally, the absence of a control group restricts the study's ability to make conclusive statements about the importance of the peer-led aspect in the mock OSCE.