[The objective structured clinical examination in postgraduate pediatric training. The first Danish experiences]

To evaluate the usefulness of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for identifying weaknesses of the educational program and for providing feedback to trainees in paediatrics an 8-station OSCE was given. Ten residents on different levels of training participated. Stations covered a wide spectrum of clinical situations and included three video-recordings of patients. Skills in history-taking, examination, listing of differential diagnoses, planning of work-up as well as in communication and counselling were assessed. Verbal as well as written feedback was provided to all the trainees. In five trainees skills in examination were relatively weak, and subsequently it was possible to implement improvements in the educational program. Strengths and weaknesses of the educational program can be identified, but the benefits of the OSCE should be balanced with the extra workload and logistical difficulties.