Logistics behind the OSCE in undergraduate medical education and an experience at a Caribbean Medical School

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Current interest regarding holistic assessments in medical education is high. This is especially the case for use during clinical rotations and post-graduate residency programs. Holistic assessments consist of the complete process of assessing students in history taking, data gathering, and physical examination of the patient. In addition to knowledge of the medical sciences, communication and patient interaction skills are a critical part of these drills. Holistic assessment strategy differs from objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) as it is a contiguous process compared to OSCE which assesses in compartments. The compartmental approach of OSCE is still effective in providing if the examinations are conducted correctly. To date, OSCE is the most comprehensive student evaluation technique following clinical rotations. Conducting the OSCE and standardized patient assessments are challenging for medical schools with limited resources, but achievable with proper planning. Those resources include standardized patients, physicians, faculty members, and adequately equipped physical facilities. Both the standardized patients and examiners require training. In spite of the challenges, this program has observed that proper use of OSCE exams done with a logistical approach is feasible and beneficial in our medical teaching environment.