Reaching Consensus on Measuring Professional Behaviour in Physical Therapy Objective Structured Clinical Examinations

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Physical Therapy

Background:

• Assessing professional behaviors (PBs) is crucial for physical therapy (PT) students.
• Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are a common tool for evaluating clinical skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine important and feasible professional behaviors (PBs) for assessment in OSCEs for Canadian physical therapy (PT) students.
• To identify specific PBs suitable for objective measurement in a clinical skills examination.

Main Methods:

• Modified Delphi technique involving experienced OSCE examiners.
• Two rounds of surveys followed by a focus group discussion.
• Iterative reduction and categorization of identified professional behaviors.

Main Results:

• Initial 31 PBs were reduced to 18 through Delphi rounds.
• A focus group further refined the list to 15 PBs.
• Five professional behaviors were identified as feasible and important for OSCE assessment.

Conclusions:

• Preliminary evidence supports the feasibility and importance of evaluating 5 specific PBs in practical skills OSCEs.
• This study provides a foundation for developing standardized OSCE assessment tools for entry-to-practice PT students.