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Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in Psychiatry Education: A Review of Its Role in Competency-Based Assessment

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GeNeDis 2016

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 988))

Abstract

Over the last two decades, Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) has become an increasingly important part of psychiatry education and assessment in the Australian context. A reappraisal of the evidence base regarding the use of OSCE in psychiatry is therefore timely. This paper reviews the literature regarding the use of OSCE as an assessment tool in both undergraduate and postgraduate psychiatry training settings. Suitable articles were identified using the search terms ‘psychiatry AND OSCE’ in the ERIC (educational) and PubMed (healthcare) databases and grouped according to their predominant focus: (1) the validity of OSCEs in psychiatry; (2) candidate preparation and other factors impacting on performance; and (3) special topics. The literature suggests that the OSCE has been widely adopted in psychiatry education, as a valid and reliable method of assessing psychiatric competencies that is acceptable to both learners and teachers alike. The limited evidence base regarding its validity for postgraduate psychiatry examinations suggests that more research is needed in this domain. Despite any shortcomings, OSCEs are currently ubiquitous in all areas of undergraduate and postgraduate medicine and proposing a better alternative for competency-based assessment is difficult. A critical question is whether OSCE is sufficient on its own to assess high-level consultancy skills, and aspects of professionalism and ethical practice, that are essential for effective specialist practice, or whether it needs to be supplemented by additional testing modalities.

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Funding No sources of funding were received for this work.

Conflicts of Interest The author reports no conflicts of interest and is alone responsible for the content and writing of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Monash Ageing Research Centre (MONARC), Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Christos Plakiotis

  2. Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Christos Plakiotis

  3. Monash Health, Aged Persons Mental Health Service, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Christos Plakiotis

  4. Aged Psychiatry Academic Unit (Monash University), c/o Medical Administration, Kingston Centre, Warrigal Road, Cheltenham, VIC, 3192, Australia

    Christos Plakiotis

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Correspondence to Christos Plakiotis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Informatics, Bioinformatics and Human Electrophysiology Laboratory, Ionian University, Corfu, Greece

    Panayiotis Vlamos

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Plakiotis, C. (2017). Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in Psychiatry Education: A Review of Its Role in Competency-Based Assessment. In: Vlamos, P. (eds) GeNeDis 2016. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 988. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56246-9_13

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