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. 2023 Sep 25;15(1):39.
doi: 10.1186/s13089-023-00337-2.

Development of a novel observed structured clinical exam to assess clinical ultrasound proficiency in undergraduate medical education

Andrew Kamilaris  1 , Jeffrey A Kramer  2 , Gwen Baraniecki-Zwil  2 , Frances Shofer  2 , Christy Moore  2 , Nova Panebianco  2 , Wilma Chan  2
Affiliations

Development of a novel observed structured clinical exam to assess clinical ultrasound proficiency in undergraduate medical education

Andrew Kamilaris et al. Ultrasound J. .

Abstract

Objectives: A pilot study was performed to develop and test an observed structured clinical exam (OSCE) for clinical ultrasound in second-year medical students. The goal was to assess a longitudinal clinical ultrasound curriculum for medical students and to help determine readiness to perform ultrasound during clinical clerkships.

Methods: The OSCE contained 40 tasks over 30 min in a one-to-one examiner to examinee environment using standardized patients covering cardiac, pulmonary, and inferior vena cava (IVC) ultrasound exams along with 6 critical diagnoses. Examinees were assessed using a binary checklist approach. A two-way ANOVA analysis was performed to determine if there were differences between the day and session the OSCE was administered. Results are presented as mean ± standard deviation.

Results: One hundred fifty-two students were tested with an overall mean score of 64.9 ± 17.6%. Scores between the cardiac, IVC, and lung sections varied-67.8% ± 18.8%, 62.4% ± 26.2%, and 57.1% ± 20.6%, respectively. One hundred twenty-six (82.9%) answered at least one critical diagnosis incorrectly. Students in the late session performed better than the early session (1: 60% vs 2: 69%, p = .001).

Conclusions: Students performed better in later sessions. Additionally, the number of questions left blank at the end of the exam suggests that the length of the OSCE should be evaluated. Incorporating critical diagnoses was challenging for examinees. The proposed OSCE is a valuable assessment tool that could be adapted to assess student's readiness to use clinical ultrasound prior to clerkships.

Keywords: Clinical ultrasound; Medical education; Medical students; Point of care ultrasonography; Undergraduate medical education.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Scores by subsection
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Scores by day and session
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Scores by examiner. Examiners 2 and 5 are faculty
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Scores of critical actions
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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