[Operationalization of the clinical head and neck examination]

Standardized procedures support learning of complex psychomotoric activities. We standardized the clinical otolaryngology examination to provide an objective basis for its operationalization. The Impact of the standardization on the objective measureable learning success and the student's evaluation were determined.During their 1-week ENT internship 166 medical students learned the standardized clinical otolaryngology examination. At the end of this week they absolved an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). The students evaluated both, the teaching (standardization) and examination method (OSCE) with 2 questionnaires.All students passed the exam with mean score of 60.3±3.5 (max. 65) points. By using the OSCE checklist 2 independent examiners appraised nearly identical examination performances. In both evaluations the students rated the teaching and examination design positive. All students greatly appreciated the standardized clinical examinations and considered it as are very important for learning practical skills.The standardization of clinical otolaryngology examination permits objective and reliable tests for learning progress and success. Furthermore transparency, process reliability and test quality are considerably improved. The student's evaluation clearly reflects the mentioned advantages.