MedEdPORTAL (Jul 2015)
An Objective Structured Teaching Exercise (OSTE) for Physicians Employing Multi-Source Feedback
Abstract
Abstract Introduction Objective structured teaching exercises (OSTEs) are used to evaluate teaching skills and allow participants to practice new teaching behaviors. This resource contains a complete set of tools to conduct a three-station OSTE for a group of clinician-teachers and includes a novel method of multisource feedback delivery. Methods This OSTE was implemented as the culmination of a full-day faculty development workshop for the Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Wisconsin in May 2012. Over the course of an hour and 15 minutes, a group of four participants rotated through each of three stations, which comprised two clinical teaching scenarios and one end-of-rotation feedback scenario. All three stations utilized a standardized learner, and two of the three stations included a standardized patient. Each member of the four-person participant group had a different role: teacher, copilot, verbal communication observer, or nonverbal communication observer. The last three roles observed the teacher and provided feedback on different aspects of the teacher's performance. The standardized learner also offered feedback. Materials included three cases featuring descriptions of all roles, the instructor's guide, an instrument to allow evaluation of the OSTE, and a take-home tip sheet. Results Twenty-four faculty completed the workshop and the OSTE. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation data were collected. Participants were asked on a written, anonymous evaluation form if the OSTE was useful, if they would recommend a similar experience to their colleagues, and whether they believed the OSTE would change the way they taught. Average scores for those three questions were 4.25, 4.06, and 4.00, respectively, on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = definitely no, 5 = definitely yes), suggesting that participants viewed the experience as useful and impactful. A self-assessment survey was also completed. Participants compared their own retrospective assessments of skills prior to and after the entire workshop. These self-assessments showed improvements across a range of 10 different teaching behaviors. In particular, on a 5-point Likert scale, participants' confidence in providing effective feedback rose from an average of 2.94 to 4.38, confidence in identifying teachable moments rose from 3.19 to 4.06, and confidence in overall teaching ability rose from 3.19 to 3.81 (all statistically significant, p < .05). Discussion These results suggest that the OSTE played a significant role in improving participants' attitudes. The same scale could be used to evaluate the module at one's home institution and serve as a basis for further improvements and modifications in the protocol.
Keywords
