Clinical Educator and Student Perceptions of a Weekly Observed Practice Activity Evaluation Tool

Clinical teachers (or preceptors) have expressed uncertainties about medical student expectations and how to assess them. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) created a list of core skills that graduating medical students should be able to perform. Using this framework, this innovation was designed to provide medical students specific, progressive clinical skills training that could be observed.

We used the AAMC skills to develop observable events, called Observed Practice Activities (OPAs), that students could accomplish with their outpatient preceptors. Preceptors and students were trained to use the OPA cards and all students turned in the cards at the end of the rotation.

Seventy-nine of 115 preceptors and 80 of 149 students completed evaluations on the OPA cards. Both students (60%) and preceptors (70%) indicated the OPA cards were helpful for knowing expectations for a third-year medical student, although preceptors found the cards to be of greater value than the students.

The OPA cards enable outpatient preceptors to document student progress toward graduated skill acquisition. In addition, the OPA cards provide preceptors and students with specific tasks, expectations, and a template for directly observed, competency-based feedback. The majority of preceptors found the OPA cards easy to use and did not disrupt their clinical work. In addition, both students and preceptors found the cards to be helpful to understand expectations of a third-year medical student in our course. The OPA cards could be adapted by other schools to evaluate progressive skill development throughout the year.