Examining Skills and Abilities During the Pandemic – Psychology Students’ and Examiners’ Perceptions of a Digital OSCE
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SUBMITTER: Hakelind C
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9309587 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:ObjectivesThis study investigates the effectiveness of a virtual format of an advanced communication skills observed structured clinical examination (OSCE) for senior medical students in comparison to an in-person format. The study also examines the emotional support students experience in the virtual setting. Our analysis was based on quantitative data collected through objective checklists and post-OSCE survey results.MethodsThe virtual OSCE was a revision of an earlier in-person formative advanced communication skills OSCE for fourth-year medical students. Student performances were assessed by self and peers using objective checklists-the modified Master Interview Rating Scale (mMIRS) and Communication Behavior Checklist (CBC). The mMIRS measured interview process such as avoiding jargon and demonstrating empathy. The CBC examined interview content which included tasks specific to the content of the case. The OSCE was followed by a faculty-led debrief and quantitative survey. The virtual OSCE was conducted in 2021, and the results of the checklists and survey were compared with those collected from two earlier in-person OSCEs.ResultsEighty-three students participated in the virtual OSCE. There was no difference in mMIRS scores between the virtual and in-person OSCE. Overall CBC scores were lower in the virtual OSCE compared to in-person (p < 0.05). Sixty-seven out of 83 (80.7%) students completed the post-OSCE survey. There were no differences between the virtual and in-person OSCE in terms of educational value, whether the OSCE would change the way participants talk to patients, and preparedness to have serious conversations with patients. All respondents somewhat or strongly agreed with feeling emotionally supported during the virtual OSCE.ConclusionThe virtual format was a suitable alternative to an in-person, formative, advanced communication skills OSCE for medical students. The virtual OSCE was educationally effective and was met with student satisfaction and a sense of emotional support. Future virtual iterations must ensure adequate instruction on interview content.
| S-EPMC10964456 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Major depression is a prevalent psychiatric disorder among people living with HIV (PWH). Major depression symptoms, including suicidal ideation, can hinder clinical care engagement and anti-retroviral treatment adherence. Research suggests that inquiry about major depression symptomatology and suicidal ideation should be standard practice when offering primary care services to PWH. However, studies examining depression and suicidal ideation inquiry are scarce. This study's aim was to describe medical students' clinical skills for dealing with major depression symptomatology and suicidal ideation among PWH in Puerto Rico. A total of 100 4th year medical students participated in a Standardized Patient simulation with a trained actor posing as a PWH and with a previous major depression diagnosis. One-way frequency tables were used to characterize the sample and the percentage of each observed clinical skill. Two key findings stem from these results only 10% of the participants referred the patient to psychological/psychiatric treatment, and only 32% inquired about suicidal ideation. Our findings highlight the need for enhancing medical students' competencies regarding mental health issues, particularly when providing services to at risk populations such as PWH within primary care settings.
| S-EPMC7120025 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundTeaching and assessment of communication skills have become essential in medical education. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) has been found as an appropriate means to assess communication skills within medical education. Studies have demonstrated the importance of a valid assessment of medical students' communication skills. Yet, the validity of the performance scores depends fundamentally on the quality of the rating scales used in an OSCE. Thus, this systematic review aimed at providing an overview of existing rating scales, describing their underlying definition of communication skills, determining the methodological quality of psychometric studies and the quality of psychometric properties of the identified rating scales.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review to identify psychometrically tested rating scales, which have been applied in OSCE settings to assess communication skills of medical students. Our search strategy comprised three databases (EMBASE, PsycINFO, and PubMed), reference tracking and consultation of experts. We included studies that reported psychometric properties of communication skills assessment rating scales used in OSCEs by examiners only. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the COnsensus based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. The quality of psychometric properties was evaluated using the quality criteria of Terwee and colleagues.ResultsData of twelve studies reporting on eight rating scales on communication skills assessment in OSCEs were included. Five of eight rating scales were explicitly developed based on a specific definition of communication skills. The methodological quality of studies was mainly poor. The psychometric quality of the eight rating scales was mainly intermediate.DiscussionOur results reveal that future psychometric evaluation studies focusing on improving the methodological quality are needed in order to yield psychometrically sound results of the OSCEs assessing communication skills. This is especially important given that most OSCE rating scales are used for summative assessment, and thus have an impact on medical students' academic success.
| S-EPMC4816391 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background: The measures taken to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, led to significant changes in university education, resulting in the new normal standard of virtual teaching in many undergraduate medical schools worldwide. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to determine the factors related to academic satisfaction with virtual teaching in medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional-analytical study was conducted on medical students at a private university in Peru, through self-reported questionnaires divided into sociodemographic data and variables of interest that could influence academic satisfaction during the pandemic. To evaluate possible factors related to academic satisfaction, stepwise regression models were performed for both sexes. Results: In total, data from 310 medical students, 117 males and 193 females, were analyzed. Academic satisfaction reached a score of 11.2 ± 2.9, which was similar in both sexes. The best regression model for males (AIC: 544.32; RMSE: 2.42; R 2: 0.30) showed that adaptation to university life (favorable change) and depression (unfavorable change) explained 30% of changes in students' academic satisfaction. While in females (AIC: 907.59; RMSE: 2.49; R 2: 0.22) the model integrated favorable factors such as adjustment to college life and anxiety; while depression and poor sleep quality were unfavorable factors. Conclusion: Factors that contributed to academic satisfaction in medical students were determined in this study, which differed by gender. Thus, it is important to take into account the particularities of male and female medical students in order to improve their academic satisfaction during their university careers.
| S-EPMC10130700 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Introduction: The digital transformation has far-reaching implications for the qualification profile of medical students, which have not been addressed in medical studies so far. Teaching concept: The competence-oriented blended learning curriculum "Medicine in the digital age" has been implemented at Mainz University Medical Centre since 2017. It represents a curricular reform project of the "Curriculum 4.0" program (Stifterverband). In six modules, the qualification requirements for digital skills are addressed. Evaluation Methodology: The qualitative evaluation of the course concept took place in the form of semi-structured interviews. All 58 participants from five courses were interviewed. Results: Using the "Qualitative Content Analysis" according to Philipp Mayring, the statements were divided into deductive main categories (process, content, methodology, learning success, learning experience and conclusion). The results reflect the student's view of the curriculum and the current qualification needs that still need to be specialised. Discussion: The didactic teaching of digital skills is a relevant and highly topical component of the further development of medical studies. In this development, the focus is not only on technological skills, but also on the.
| S-EPMC7672383 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesThe qualitative subjective assessment has been exercised either by self-reflection (self-assessment (SA)) or by an observer (peer assessment (PA)) and is considered to play an important role in students' development. The objectivity of PA and SA by students as well as those by faculty examiners has remained debated. This matters most when it comes to a high-stakes examination. We explored the degree of objectivity in PA, SA, as well as the global rating by examiners being Examiners' Subjective Assessment (ESA) compared with Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE).DesignProspective cohort study.SettingUndergraduate medical students at Alfaisal University, Riyadh.ParticipantsAll second-year medical students (n=164) of genders, taking a course to learn clinical history taking and general physical examination.Main outcome measuresA Likert scale questionnaire was distributed among the participants during selected clinical skills sessions. Each student was evaluated randomly by peers (PA) as well as by himself/herself (SA). Two OSCEs were conducted where students were assessed by an examiner objectively as well as subjectively (ESA) for a global rating of confidence and well-preparedness. OSCE-1 had fewer topics and stations, whereas OSCE-2 was terminal and full scale.ResultsOSCE-1 (B=0.10) and ESA (B=8.16) predicted OSCE-2 scores. 'No nervousness' in PA (r=0.185, p=0.018) and 'confidence' in SA (r=0.207, p=0.008) correlated with 'confidence' in ESA. In 'well-preparedness', SA correlated with ESA (r=0.234, p=0.003).ConclusionsOSCE-1 and ESA predicted students' performance in the OSCE-2, a high-stakes evaluation, indicating practical 'objectivity' in ESA, whereas SA and PA had minimal predictive role. Certain components of SA and PA correlated with ESA, suggesting partial objectivity given the limited objectiveness of ESA. Such difference in 'qualitative' objectivity probably reflects experience. Thus, subjective assessment can be used with some degree of objectivity for continuous assessment.
| S-EPMC5623435 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Myths in Psychology are beliefs that are widely spread and inconsistent with the empirical evidence available within this field of knowledge. They are characterized by being relatively stable, resistant to change, and prevalent both among the non-academic population and among students and professionals within this discipline. The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of these myths among Spanish psychology students and the influence of three variables: the type of university, face-to-face (UAM) and online (UNED), the academic year in which participants were enrolled and familiarity with scientific dissemination. Results show that participants from the face-to-face university, enrolled in higher academic years and that reports familiarity with scientific dissemination believe less in myths than those from the online university, enrolled in lower years and that report no familiarity with scientific dissemination.
| S-EPMC9375966 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPhysicians' communication skills (CS) are known to significantly affect the quality of health care. Communication skills training programs are part of most undergraduate medical curricula and are usually assessed in Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) throughout the curriculum. The adoption of reliable measurement instruments is thus essential to evaluate such skills.MethodsUsing Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MGCFA) and Item Response Theory analysis (IRT) the current retrospective study tested the factorial validity and reliability of a four-item global rating scale developed by Hodges and McIlroy to measure CS among 296 third- and fourth-year medical students at the Faculty of Medicine in Geneva, Switzerland, during OSCEs.ResultsEFA results at each station showed good reliability scores. However, measurement invariance assessments through MGCFA across different stations (i.e., same students undergoing six or three stations) and across different groups of stations (i.e., different students undergoing groups of six or three stations) were not satisfactory, failing to meet the minimum requirements to establish measurement invariance and thus possibly affecting reliable comparisons between students' communication scores across stations. IRT revealed that the four communication items provided overlapping information focusing especially on high levels of the communication spectrum.ConclusionsUsing this four-item set in its current form it may be difficult to adequately differentiate between students who are poor in CS from those who perform better. Future directions in best-practices to assess CS among medical students in the context of OSCE may thus focus on (1) training examiners so to obtain scores that are more coherent across stations; and (2) evaluating items in terms of their ability to cover a wider spectrum of medical students' CS. In this respect, IRT can prove to be very useful for the continuous evaluation of CS measurement instruments in performance-based assessments.
| S-EPMC7887794 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its quick progression to a global pandemic has urged medical schools to shift from didactic to distance learning and assessment approaches. The quality of clinical training and assessment have been jeopardized due to the regulatory restrictions and potential hazards to human lives. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the utility and efficacy of an electronic Objective Structured Clinical Examination (e-OSCE), which attempted to transform the format of a face-to-face OSCE to an e-OSCE.MethodsWe conducted three end of clerkship e-OSCEs for final year medical students in Surgery, Medicine and Family Medicine using the teleconferencing application of Microsoft Teams (MST). The e-OSCE blueprint included the assessment of all clinical skills except physical examination and procedural skills. Examiners supervised e-OSCE from the college campus, while all students were remotely assessed through the MST channels. During the exam, the students stayed in their specified MST channel and examiners rotated across all students. The utility and efficacy of e-OSCE was evaluated using a self-administered questionnaire for students, examiners and e-OSCE team.ResultsThe data analysis showed that 93.4% students and 92.2% examiners agreed with the quality and process of e-OSCE. Similarly, 83.6% students and 98% examiners agreed with the seamless organization of e-OSCE. As many as 45.9% students and 74.5% examiners agreed that e-OSCE was close to real life practice. Approximately one fifth of students and one third of examiners preferred e-OSCE over the face-to-face OSCE. The analysis of qualitative data generated the themes of e-OSCE structure and technology. While majority of participants were satisfied with e-OSCE, students were concerned about examiners' training and e-OSCE contents. Examiners and e-OSCE team recognized the paper-less, tech-savy, fast and reliable format of e-OSCE.ConclusionDuring and beyond COVID- 19 era, e-OSCE is a strong substitute to standard OSCE for assessing clinical competence except for physical examination and procedural skills. The planning and implementation of e-OSCE reflects an ingenuity in the assessment of clinical competencies of medical students.
| S-EPMC8902284 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Did the dramatic learning losses from remote learning in the context of COVID-19 stem at least partly from schools having overlooked students' socio-emotional skills-such as their ability to self-regulate emotions, their mental models, motivation, and grit-during the emergency transition to remote learning? We study this question using a cluster-randomized control trial with 18,256 high-school students across 87 schools in the State of Goiás, Brazil. The intervention sent behavioral nudges through text messages to students or their caregivers, targeting their socio-emotional skills during remote learning. Here we show that these messages significantly increased standardized test scores relative to the control group, preventing 7.5% of learning losses in math and 24% in Portuguese, consistent with the hypothesis that neglecting students' socio-emotional skills magnified learning losses during the pandemic.
| S-EPMC11003960 | biostudies-literature