Use of a written simulation to evaluate optometric clinical proficiency

A written simulation of an optometric patient examination was designed and administered to 3rd-year optometric students. Test scores from the written simulation were compared with those from a clinical proficiency evaluation and no statistically significant correlations between the scores for the two testing methods was found. The results suggest that the two types of tests measure two different areas of clinical competence: problem-solving and case-analysis skills by the written simulation, and clinical performance skills by the clinical proficiency. This conclusion is supported by the subjective comments of students and faculty to whom the written simulation was administered and indicates that written simulations may be a useful tool in optometric curricula to teach and evaluate problem-solving and case-analysis skills.