Does studying for an objective structured clinical examination make a difference?

Purpose This study examines the extent to which second-year medical student s studied for an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), how they studied, and the impact of self-reported studying on OSCE performance. Method One class of 113 medical students completed an end-of-second-year OS CE, held on two consecutive evenings. The OSCE was comprised of eight stati ons, each of which was of 20 minutes' duration. The OSCE was formative: stu dents received performance feedback but were not graded. Prior to the OSCE, students completed a brief survey regarding their preparation for the OSCE and their perceptions of confidence, anxiety and preparedness. Only 78 stu dents returned surveys with names, comprising the data for these analyses. Results Mean studying time was 3.3 h, ranging from 0 to 19 h. Studying time was positively associated with age and negatively associated with basic sc ience examination scores. The most study time was dedicated reviewing the p hysical examination textbook, class notes and supplemental course readings. The breadth of study strategies increased as more time was spent in OSCE p reparation. OSCE performance was related to study time and to achievement o n pre-clinical basic science examinations. Discussion The students whose performance was above average seemed to be th e talented students whose records indicated a history of academic success. The amount of time they reported for OSCE preparation was comparable to tha t reported by students with below average performance. It appears that prio r academic performance rather than preparatory studying time is a better pr edictor of OSCE outcomes.