Inter-examiner reliability when using the Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) mark sheet for physiotherapy practical

Olivier, Benita; Naidoo, Vaneshveri; Humphries, C. Thomas; Godlwana, L.; Romm, Marnin Joseph; Ntsiea, Veronica; Aswegen, H. van; Myezwa, Hellen; Roos, Ronel; Mudzi, Witness; Potterton, Joanne; Watt, B; Maleka, Douglas; Mtshali, S.; Stewart, Andrew

doi:10.4102/sajp.v69i4.375

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“…Examiners had different levels of experience, including clinical and practical examination experience. Olivier et al [13] found that there was a high correlation between examiners with a similar number of years of experience. To overcome the different levels of experience [1] all staff underwent a briefing session on behaviour, the practical test process and the mark sheet before the practical test was undertaken.…”

Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

The implementation of the Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) method: Students’ and examiners’ experiences

Olivier

Naidoo

Mudzi

et al. 2015

AJHPE

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OSPE is an abbreviation for Objective Structured Practical Examination. In the literature the terms OSPE and OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) are sometimes interchanged. [1] For the purpose of this article, the term OSPE will be used, as this method is solely applied in the assessment of practical skills and not in the application of these skills in the clinical setting. The OSPE consists of a circuit of stations that tests a variety of techniques to establish practical competence. It has been researched and shown to be an effective, valid, reliable and defendable assessment method in emergency medical training, [1] nursing, [2,3] physiology [4] and oral surgery. [5] At the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, the OSCE method is currently used in the graduate entry medical programme (medicine) and in the undergraduate nursing programme. The traditional, unstructured method of practical skills assessment has three variables, which have the potential to increase the subjectivity of the method [4,5] and consequently interfere with the assessment of the student. These variables include the student, examiner and technique. [1] The OSPE method is an attempt to control examiner and technique variability. An attempt is also made to standardise the environment and process of the practical skills test. [4] Currently, the students' peers act as models during a practical skills test, which introduces a certain amount of standardisation as they are free from comorbidities that may complicate the assessment. The structured nature of the OSPE decreases the variability of the examiner, which is especially important as they often have different levels of experience. [5] Second-year students have not yet been exposed to the clinical area and during a practical skills examination, where a peer is used as a model, the outcome or effect on the patient cannot be judged. [6] At second-year level, the focus is on competency in technique rather than effectiveness of treatment. Students are still learning the elements needed to execute the skills safely and effectively. [7] This makes it possible to control the practical skills test, including the examiner, technique and environment, to improve objectivity, consistency and fairness to all students. Traditionally, physiotherapy practical skills have been assessed by a method that leaves room for subjective interpretation of competency and at times lacks the formative benefits of assessment. The OSPE method attempts to control for the variability of the examination by providing examiners with a checklist that contains the micro-skills required from the student to be able to effectively complete the practical technique and by providing clear instructions to examiners, students and models. The influence that a change in method will have on student performance is as yet unclear. This study sought to evaluate the effect that a change in method of assessment would have on student performance and level of satisfaction. As such, the objective of this study w...

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Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%