OSCE: General Information
What is an OSCE?
OSCE stands for “Objective Structured Clinical Examination.” OSCEs are very helpful in medical education because they allow a student to practice and demonstrate clinical skills in a standardized medical scenario.
Students have the opportunity to demonstrate competency in communication, history taking, physical examination, clinical reasoning, medical knowledge, and integration of these skills. It is meant to be a fair and accurate way to assess competence, as well as identify areas that need more work and practice.
OSCE stations may include:
- Clinical interactions (in-person or virtual) with standardized patients: counseling, examination, history taking
- Examination of mannequins and interpretation of findings
- Computerized cases
- Test Interpretation
- Order writing
Why Have OSCEs?
Every LCME-accredited medical school in the United States requires OSCEs to assess students’ clinical skills and the effectiveness of the curriculum. The goals of the UW OSCEs are to:
- Assess whether students are achieving required clinical skills as they move through the curriculum towards residency.
- Give students feedback on clinical skills to allow for continual improvement.
- Identify strengths and weaknesses in the curriculum.
When are OSCEs Held?
- Foundations Part 1: Spring of year 1 of the Foundations Phase
- Foundations Part 2: Fall of year 2 of the Foundations Phase
- Patient Care: mid-May to end of June following completion of required clerkships
What do the OSCEs Test?
The content and format of each OSCE is selected to test skills and knowledge that students have already been exposed to in the curriculum.
Content for the OSCEs is drawn from:
- The full range of clinical skills and benchmarks taught in Foundations of Clinical Medicine
- Principles identified in the goals and objectives of the required clinical clerkships