Student evaluation of an OSCE in paediatrics at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica

A self-administered questionnaire was completed by successive groups of students immediately after the OSCE at the end of each clerkship rotation. Main outcome measures were student perception of examination attributes, which included the quality of instructions and organisation, the quality of performance, authenticity and transparency of the process, and usefulness of the OSCE as an assessment instrument compared to other formats.There was overwhelming acceptance of the OSCE in Child Health with respect to the comprehensiveness (90%), transparency (87%), fairness (70%) and authenticity of the required tasks (58–78%). However, students felt that it was a strong anxiety-producing experience. And concerns were expressed regarding the ambiguity of some questions and inadequacy of time for expected tasks.Student feedback was invaluable in influencing faculty teaching, curriculum direction and appreciation of student opinion. Further psychometric evaluation will strengthen the development of the OSCE.The assessment of student's clinical competence is of paramount importance, and there are several means of evaluating student performance in medical examinations [1,2]. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an approach to student assessment in which aspects of clinical competence are evaluated in a comprehensive, consistent and structured manner, with close attention to the objectivity of the process [3]. The OSCE was introduced by Harden in 1975 [4], and first described as an assessment format in Paediatrics (Child Health) by Waterson and colleagues [5]. Since its inception, the OSCE has been increasingly used to provide formative and summative assessment in various medical disciplines worldwide [6], including non-clinical disciplines [7].The University of the West Indies was established in 1948 as a medical college of the University of London, which granted external degrees to those who successfully completed the course [8]. The Faculty of Medical Scienc