e-Learning for enhancement of medical student performance at the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)

This study aimed to investigate the impact of student e-learning on the development of clinical competencies. The study participants were 3rd year students (n = 43) at a private mid-sized medical school located in a South Korean suburb on a four-year medical program. Educational intervention was implemented to enhance student clinical performance. Students engaged in learning activities that intended to promote their self-directed learning abilities and clinical performances using e-learning resources. Intervention was conducted for the duration of six months during the 3rd year and its effectiveness was investigated by comparing student performances in OSCEs in a pre- and post- comparison format and also by comparing them with national scores. In addition, student perceptions of the impact of e-learning on their OSCE performances were assessed using a questionnaire, which included 36 items that elicited student perceptions of their experiences of e-learning and readiness for e-learning. Student OSCE scores improved significantly after educational intervention in all domains of clinical competencies assessed and for total scores (p < 0.001). Furthermore, students achieved higher OSCE scores than national average scores in the post-test, whereas they had performed lower than national average scores in the pre-test. Students showed neutral or slightly positive responses to the effectiveness of e-learning, and their perceptions of e-learning were not associated with their e-learning readiness scores. The study shows student OSCE performance improved significantly after educational intervention, which indicate the effectiveness of e-learning to support student learning of clinical performance. Despite significant improvements in student OSCE scores after e-learning, their perceptions of its effectiveness were neutral. Furthermore, student perceptions of e-learning were not associated with their readiness for it. Suggestions are made to help students use e-learning more effectively to enhance their clinical competencies.