Development and design of objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) in undergraduate pharmacy education in a new School of Pharmacy in England

UK pharmacy practice is driven by competency-based healthcare practice and the expanding clinical roles of pharmacy practitioners. Setting up a new School of Pharmacy offers the opportunity to design a program appropriate for the needs of the future pharmacy workforce. Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) offer the opportunity to assess students in their handling of real life pharmacy practice scenarios, and allow students to develop and hone communication and problem-solving skills. This paper describes the development and design of OSCEs in the undergraduate pharmacy degree at the University of Hertfordshire. The framework of formative and summative OSCEs across the 4-year degree program is discussed, as are the logistics of setting up and running OSCEs, tutor training, feedback, and reflections on the experience to date and future direction. The OSCEs have been implemented successfully into the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum with positive feedback from staff and students.