Experience and evaluation of oral examinations in a therapeutics course for second-year pharmacy students

ObjectiveTo develop, implement, and assess a patient case-based oral examination in a second-year therapeutics course.MethodsDuring a two-year period, a patient case-based oral examination encompassing cumulative disease states was administered. The oral examination case encompassed up to five disease states which students had been previously tested on by written examination. Students' oral examination answers were evaluated by a standardized rubric and performance was compared to that on a written examination covering similar material. During year two, prior to the administration of corresponding written and oral examinations, students completed a perception of preparedness questionnaire rating themselves on a 4-point Likert scale. Data was evaluated to determine if relationships existed between performance on examination types, course grades, and perceptions of preparedness.ResultsAverage performance on oral examinations was>90% in both the years and did not correlate to performance on the written examinations (r = 0.12, r = 0.10). Students felt “prepared” for both oral (3.00±0.45) and written examinations (2.99±0.14); however, performance on both oral (r = 0.13) and written (r = 0.43) examinations had minimal relationship to perception of preparedness. A relationship was seen between written examination scores and course grades. Benefits and limitations of the process are described.ConclusionWhile there was no relationship between performance on the oral and written examination, incorporation of a patient case-based oral examination in a therapeutics course offers an additional method of student assessment to reinforce students' clinical knowledge and skills. Utilizing an oral examination with additional focus on oral communication skills evaluation has been suggested for future research.