INCREASING EXAMINER INVOLVEMENT - IN AN OBJECTIVE STRUCTURED CLINICALEXAMINATION BY INTEGRATING A STRUCTURED ORAL EXAMINATION

INTRODUCTION: The role of physician examiners in an objective structur ed clinical examination (OSCE) is relatively passive. In our instituti on examiners criticized the passive nature of their role. This study e valuates the reliability and viability of adding a structured oral exa mination to an OSCE. METHOD: Ten 24-minute stations consisted of three parts. Part I: 52 minutes-patient encounter. Part 11: 6 minutes-oral presentation covering findings, differential diagnosis, and management plan. Part III: 6 minutes-structural oral examination (SOE), containi ng 5 predetermined questions. RESULTS: Over 6 consecutive days, 72 gra duates were assessed. Overall average score: 72.02 (SD 5.05); reliabil ity 0.84. Part I of the OSCE average score: 69.2 (SD 7.4); reliability 0.69. Part II oral presentation average score 64 (SD 5.8) reliability 0.87. SOE average scare 77.7 (SD 6.3); reliability 0.64. Eighty-nine percent of the examiners indicated satisfaction with the new format. C ONCLUSIONS: The SOE was a reliable component of an OSCE and contribute d to the overall reliability. Examiners reported a higher degree of sa tistaction with the examination. (C) 3997 Excerpta Medica Inc.