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Virtual Objective Structured Clinical Examination Experiences and Performance in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Ryan Kelly1, Gentson Leung, Heather Lindstrom
1From the MD Program, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St John's, Newfoundland, Canada (RK); Section of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (GL); Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (HL, JCY); and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (SW).
Background:
Virtual education has been described before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies evaluating virtual objective structured clinical examinations with postgraduate learners are lacking. This study (1) evaluated the experiences of all participants in a virtual objective structured clinical examination and (2) assessed the validity and reliability of selected virtual objective structured clinical examination stations for skills in physical medicine and rehabilitation.
Methods:
Convergent mixed-methods design was used. Participants included three physical medicine and rehabilitation residency programs holding a joint virtual objective structured clinical examination. Analysis included descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Performance of virtual to previous in-person objective structured clinical examination was compared using independent t tests.
Results:
Survey response rate was 85%. No participants had previous experience with virtual objective structured clinical examination. Participants found the virtual objective structured clinical examination to be acceptable (79.4%), believable (84.4%), and valuable for learning (93.9%). No significant differences between in-person and virtual objective structured clinical examination scores was found for three-fourth stations and improved scores in one fourth. Four themes were identified: (1) virtual objective structured clinical examinations are better for communication stations; (2) significant organization is required to run a virtual objective structured clinical examination; (3) adaptations are required compared with in-person objective structured clinical examinations; and (4) virtual objective structured clinical examinations provide improved accessibility and useful practice for virtual clinical encounters.
Conclusions:
Utility of virtual objective structured clinical examinations as a component of a program of assessment should be carefully considered and may provide valuable learning opportunities going forward.
