Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Dec 14;23(1):958.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-023-04940-8.

Progress testing of an objective structured clinical examination during undergraduate clinical clerkship: a mixed-methods pilot study

Ikuo Shimizu  1   2   3 , Junichiro Mori  4 , Aiga Yamauchi  5 , Sawako Kato  4 , Yuichi Masuda  4   6 , Yuichi Nakazawa  4 , Hiroyuki Kanno  4
Affiliations

Progress testing of an objective structured clinical examination during undergraduate clinical clerkship: a mixed-methods pilot study

Ikuo Shimizu et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: Progress testing is an assessment method in which an examination reflecting competencies at graduation is regularly administered to students over multiple years, thereby facilitating self-directed learning. However, the significance of the objective structured clinical examination as a progress test in undergraduate education, needs to be determined. This study provides evidence of the role of the objective structured clinical examination for progress testing and optimal scoring methods for assessing students in different academic years.

Methods: We conducted a sequential explanatory mixed-methods pilot study. Participants were assessed using the Item Rating Scale, the year-adjusted Global Rating Scale, and the Training Level Rating Scale. The characteristics of each scale were compared quantitatively. In addition, the influence of the objective structured clinical examination as a progress test on learning attitudes was examined. Qualitative data from a post-examination questionnaire were analyzed, using content analysis to explore influences on self-directed learning.

Results: Sixth and fifth year clinical students (n = 235) took the objective structured clinical examination progress test. The total Item Rating Scales were recorded (%) as 59.03 ± 5.27 and 52.64 ± 5.08 (p < 0.01); Training Level Rating Scale was 3.94 ± 0.39 vs 3.22 ± 0.42 (p < 0.01); and the year-adjusted Global Rating Scale was 4.25 ± 0.44 vs 4.32 ± 0.52 (no significant difference), for the sixth and fifth year students, respectively. The correlations across stations and the reliability of each station were satisfactory. Four categories were identified in the qualitative analysis: "motivation to learn during the clinical clerkship was promoted," "dissatisfied with being asked about things they had not experienced," "confusion about being unable to use conventional test-taking strategies," and "insufficient understanding of competencies at graduation." The scores indicated significant differences in performance according to training year.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence that the objective structured clinical examination can be used as a progress testing tool for undergraduate clinical clerkships. Further enhancement of training opportunities and dissemination of performance competency goals in clerkship curricula are required if we intend to promote self-directed learning through progress testing.

Keywords: Clinical clerkship; Objective structured clinical examination; Progress testing; Rating scale; Self-directed learning.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Overview of clinical skills assessment using the existing CAT-OSCEs in a typical medical school in Japan (Shinshu University) and the OSCE-PT in this study. Other assessment opportunities than these OSCEs were not described (e.g. workplace assessment, portfolio, written or oral tests) . In this study, OSCE-PT for the 6th year students was conducted simultaneously with post-CC OSCE. CAT, Common Achievement Test; CC, clinical clerkship; OSCE, objective structured clinical examination; PT, progress testing
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tio RA, Schutte B, Meiboom AA, Greidanus J, Dubois EA, Bremers AJA. The progress test of medicine: the Dutch experience. Perspect Med Educ. 2016;5(1):51–55. doi: 10.1007/S40037-015-0237-1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wade L, Harrison C, Hollands J, Mattick K, Ricketts C, Wass V. Student perceptions of the progress test in two settings and the implications for test deployment. Adv in Health Sci Educ. 2012;17(4):573–583. doi: 10.1007/s10459-011-9334-z. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bulik RJ, Romero CM. The elusive concept of self-directed learning. In: Long HB, editor. Self-directed learning and the information age. Shaumberg, Illinois: Motorola University Press; 2001.
    1. Pugh D, Touchie C, Wood TJ, Humphrey-Murto S. Progress testing: is there a role for the OSCE? Med Educ. 2014;48(6):623–631. doi: 10.1111/medu.12423. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pugh D, Bhanji F, Cole G, Dupre J, Hatala R, Humphrey-Murto S, et al. Do OSCE progress test scores predict performance in a national high-stakes examination? Med Educ. 2016;50(3):351–358. doi: 10.1111/medu.12942. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources