Introducing an innovative viva format for assessment of integrated knowledge

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Cognitive Learning Assessment

Background:

• Traditional assessment methods struggle to evaluate integrated basic health sciences knowledge in medical curricula.
• The viva, a common assessment tool, is often underutilized for assessing interdisciplinary knowledge integration.
• Enhancing cognitive learning requires aligning teaching, learning, and assessment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel scenario-based viva format for assessing integrated basic health sciences knowledge.
• To improve the assessment of cognitive learning in undergraduate medical students within an integrated curriculum.

Main Methods:

• Modified the traditional viva format at an institutional level.
• Designed viva questions around three distinct scenarios for each semester examination.
• Evaluated the effectiveness of the new scenario-based viva format.

Main Results:

• The scenario-based viva format yielded encouraging results in assessing integrated knowledge.
• Demonstrated improved evaluation of cognitive learning compared to traditional viva methods.
• The new format showed promise for assessing interdisciplinary understanding.

Conclusions:

• The scenario-based viva format is a valuable tool for assessing integrated basic health sciences knowledge.
• This innovative assessment strategy enhances cognitive learning evaluation in medical education.
• Recommends adoption of the scenario-based viva for institutions with integrated curricula.