An Objective Standardized Clinical Examination (OSCE) in an advanced nonprescription medicines course

To add an objective standardized clinical examination (OSCE) to a nonprescription medication elective and assess the impact on students' knowledge, skills, and satisfaction.

A nonprescription medicine elective was altered to incorporate more active learning and skill-assessment measures. Small group recitation sessions were added to review didactic material from a prior required nonprescription medicine course, and an objective standardized clinical examination was used to assess skills.

Thirty-four students completed the 3-case OSCE with an average grade of 88%. The standardized patients expressed differences in their satisfaction with the student pharmacists' care by ranking the students' overall performance. Students' grades for the course and course evaluations were similar to the previous year.

The addition of the OSCE to the elective course provided students with an enhanced mechanism for evaluation of their self-care education and skill development.