The Experience of an Objective, Structured Clinical Examination at Kaohsiung Medical University

Abstract

The objective, structured clinical examination (OSCE) is a method to assess clinical competency based on objective testing, through direct observation in a formal setting. The Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU) has pioneered OSCEs in Taiwan. In KMU, three groups of examinees—medical students in years 3 and 4, medical students in years 5 and 6, and medical students in year 7—were assessed using different OSCEs. Each OSCE was set up using the following five steps: (1) create cases; (2) decide on the items or clinical skills to be evaluated; (3) train standardized patients; (4) run the OSCE and (5) review videos to improve the curriculum. We expect that KMU will become the premier OSCE center in Taiwan.

Keywords

• KMU experience
• medical education
• objective structured clinical examination