Medical students’ perspectives on the role of OSPE and OSCE in the educational journey and contribution to career development: A cross-sectional study

The study aims to explore medical students’ perspectives on the role of Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) and Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in their educational journey and contribution to career development. By understanding students’ experiences and insights, educators can better tailor these assessments to meet the evolving needs of medical training in the Kingdom. This study employed a cross-sectional study design to investigate the utilization of OSPEs and OSCEs among medical students and their perceived impact on contribution to career development. The study targeted the 1st to 5th-year medical students who have ever participated in the OSCE and OSPE tests. OSCE and OSPE exams are conducted based on the Course Learning Outcomes of each course or block. Each OSCE and OSPE assessment item must be mapped to the Course Learning Outcomes, and a blueprint is created using a checklist prepared according to Bloom’s taxonomy. The exam committee, along with 2 or 3 senior faculty members, validates all assessment items and their respective stations before the final student assessments. Students believed that OSPE and OSCE were found to be beneficial for medical education and contribution to career development with mean scores (OSPE: very beneficial: mean = 3.55, standard deviation = 0.56) and a chi-square value of 43.5 ( P = .000) and OSCEs were similarly beneficial (very beneficial: mean = 3.80, standard deviation = 0.39) with a chi-square value of 77.3 ( P = .000). The extent to which students believe OSPEs help in improving their clinical skills showed a significant positive correlation with OSPEs benefit score ( r = 0.542, P = .000) and OSCEs benefit score ( r = 0.312, P = .000). However, the correlation with contribution to career development impact score was not significant ( r = 0.47, P = .318). The study highlights the effectiveness of OSPE and OSCE in enhancing clinical skills and contributing to career development in medical education. It shows that students actively participated in these assessments, reporting significant improvements in their clinical skills, particularly through OSPE. While students appreciated OSCEs for their contribution to career development, there is room for improvement in how the benefits of OSPEs are communicated.