An assessment of students’ performance and satisfaction with an OSCE early in an undergraduate pharmacy curriculum

BackgroundThe extended role of the pharmacist in the United Kingdom dictates that pharmacy graduates must not only demonstrate academic achievement but also must possess skills and attain levels of competence required for the workplace. Acquisition and ongoing assessment of these core attributes must be inculcated from early in the undergraduate curriculum. The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) provides a practical means of assessing key skills. There is a paucity of literature on the use of the OSCE early in pharmacy undergraduate curricula, but candidate numbers at a single examination sitting appeared to be small.AimTo assess the performance of a large second-year student cohort and their satisfaction with an OSCE to test the application of knowledge and skills.MethodA five-active station summative OSCE was completed by 128 second-year students. Performance at stations was assessed and a post-OSCE questionnaire survey evaluated students’ satisfaction with an OSCE in the second-year curriculum.ResultsStudents showed good performance at OSCE stations and the majority perceived the OSCE to be a valuable practical experience. About 85% believed that it tested appropriate skills and opted for it to remain as an examination format in the second year. Overall, 49% of students did not enjoy having staff as “patient actors.”ConclusionClinical skills performance scores and student feedback suggest that the second-year OSCE was a valuable tool and served to encourage its use at other stages in the undergraduate curriculum.