STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF SURGICAL OBJECTIVE STRUCTURED CLINICAL EXAMINATION (OSCE) AT DOW UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES

Objective: To determine the student’s perception of reliability and validity of Surgical Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in Dow University of Health Sciences. Methodology: Total 109 third year students of Dow International Medical College voluntarily and anonymously completed a self-administered questionnaire at the end of the OSCE examination from January 2012 to March 2013. Main outcome measures were student perception of examination attributes (which included the quality of instructions and organization, the quality of performance, authenticity and transparency of the process). Results: OSCE was considered as a fair examination method by 76% students. More than half of the students rated this examination as one covering wide range of knowledge (86%), clinical competence (72.5%), and well administered and structured (85-87%). Sixty six percent students highlighted OSCE as tool that is reliable and valid in measuring their clinical competencies. Conclusion: OSCE as a tool to evaluate clinical competence among surgical students was highly appreciated by the students. Student believes that this assessment method cover broad knowledge component and clinical competence.