Optimizing the oral examination in medical education

Abstract

The oral examination, or viva, is a testing procedure well-suited to psychiatry and the behavioural sciences, but it is a procedure which tests the skill of examiners nearly as much as it does students. Guidelines are suggested to maximize the efficacy of the viva and to minimize its potential weaknesses. The guidelines include: relaxing students, clear thinking, open-ended questions, active probing, calibrating questions to the appropriate level of sophistication, looking for strengths, and encouraging creativity.