Guidelines for estimating the real cost of an objective structured clinical examination

Abstract

A major impediment to the use of the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is that it is a labor-intensive and costly form of assessment. The cost of an OSCE is highly dependent on the particular model used, the extent to which hidden costs are reported, and the purpose of the examination. The authors detail hypothetical costs of running a four-hour OSCE for 120 medical students at one medical school. Costs are reported for four phases of this process: development, production, administration, and post-examination reporting and analysis. Costs are reported at two ends of the spectrum: the high end, where it is assumed that little is paid for by the institution and that faculty receive honoraria for work put into the examination; and the low end, where it is assumed that the sponsoring institution defrays basic costs and that faculty do not receive honoraria for their participation. The total costs reported for a first-time examination were $104,400 and $59,460 (Canadian dollars) at the high and low ends, respectively. These translate to per-student costs of $870 and $496. The cost of running an OSCE is high. However, the OSCE is uniquely capable of assessing many fundamental clinical skills that are presently not being assessed in a rigorous way in most medical schools.

Design and Evaluation of a New National Pharmacy Internship Program in Ireland

“…There were significant costs associated with the OSCE component of the PRE. These were comparable to those reported in the literature 25 and deemed justifiable for the outcomes achieved.…”

“…The OSCE was identified as being one of the most resource intensive components of the PRE, and the costs estimated in accordance with Reznick and colleagues "Guidelines for Estimating the Real Cost of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination". 25 The costs were estimated in the four phases of implementation of an OSCE namely: examination development, examination production, examination administration and post-examination analysis.…”

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination

“…23 Other studies, looking just at per-student costs, found a range from a low of $54 to a high of $496 per student. 6,7,24 The discrepancies in cost were related to differences in pay to the standardized patients, honoraria for the faculty, number of stations and examinees, and total time of the examination.…”

Viva in vivo assessment (VIVA) Toetsing van het handelen van artsen en studenten door observatie in de klinische praktijk

“…De kosten van simulatietoetsen zijn hoog. 26 Toetsing van echte consulten in de klinische praktijk heeft een aantal financiële voordelen. Er zijn geen kosten voor het schrijven en valideren van simulatiecasus, voor reiskosten en training van simulatiepatiënten, huur van ruimtes in een skillslab en de inrichting ervan (instrumentarium en verbruiksgoederen).…”