Simulating a full-length psychiatric interview with a complex patient: an OSCE for medical students

Brief encounters with standardized psychiatric patients have been reported. In contrast, a videotaped objective structured clinical examination designed to simulate a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation was used to evaluate all students assigned to three successive psychiatry clerkship rotations (N=52). Performance assessment was based on standardized patients' completion of a 36-item content checklist and a patient perception scale, and on students' completion of a written examination component. Checked independently, all three assessments correlated with the students' score on the NBME psychiatry examination, their ward grade, and their essay examination grade. Students' ratings were favorable for time allotted, usefulness, and believability.