Comparison of Self-assessment and Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) of Medical Students' Clinical Performance

Park, Eal Whan

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical experiences (in internal medicine) of medical students, and compare the self-assessment of their competency in clinical skills with the assessment of instructors through the OSCE. METHODS: The frequency of clinical experiences had by medical students and the self-assessments of their confidence in clinical skills were assessed by questionnaires administered before the OSCE. 52 medical students participated in the OSCE. After completing the OSCE, they re-evaluated their own performance of 9 clinical skills examined in the OSCE by self-assessment questionnaires. The scores of these self-assessments were compared with the scores given by the instructors. RESULTS: For 19 of 28 clinical skills items listed in the questionnaires, self-assessment of competence by medical students correlated with the frequency of performance (p<0.05). For 9 clinical skills in the OSCE, the self-assessment scores did not correlate significantly with the instructors' assessment scores (p>0.05). However, these 9 clinical skills scores from the instructors correlated significantly with the clerkship evaluation scores and the final semester grade point averages (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: There was a significant association between frequency of performance and self-assessed competency, which did not correlate significantly with the instructors' evaluation through the OSCE.