J Korean Med Assoc.  2014 May;57(5):444-454. 10.5124/jkma.2014.57.5.444.

The current status and development of a skill examination for the Korean speciality certification examination

• Cho JJ
• Noh HM
• Kim SH
• Kwon H
• Park YM
• Choi BM

• KMID: 2194888
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2014.57.5.444

Abstract

The Specialty Certification Examination is an important part of the assessment of medical education. However, the step 2 skill examinations of 26 medical specialties in Korea are insufficient with respect to achieving the objective of practical examinations that evaluate clinical skill and competence. Among the current step 2 skill examination methods, picture testing using slides or reading of pathology slides/radiologic images is more suitable for testing cognition and knowledge than for testing performance. The oral examination has low reliability because of its relatively short testing period and absence of scoring criteria. In addition, the Specialty Certification Examination is a high-stakes test and the performance during the training course is not reflected in the skill examination. We have reviewed the various skill examinations including clinical practice examinations, objective structured clinical examinations of the United States and Canada, and work-based assessments of the United Kingdom. Based on the review, we suggest some plans for improving the Korean Specialty Certification Examination.

Keyword

Specialty Certification Examination; Performance assessment; Skill examination; Work based assessments

MeSH Terms

Canada
Certification*
Clinical Competence
Cognition
Diagnosis, Oral
Education, Medical
Great Britain
Korea
Mental Competency
Pathology
United States

Figure

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  Figure 1 The examination methods and Miller's pyramid of competence. OSCE, objective structured clinical examination; CCS, computerized case simulation; MCQ, multiple choice questions.

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  Figure 2 The surgical training pathway. MRCS, Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons; FRCS, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. From Evgeniou E, et al. J Educ Eval Health Prof 2013;10:2, according to the Creative Commons license [9].

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