Transitioning Competency-Based Communication Assessments to the Online Platform: Examples and Student Outcomes

Abstract

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacy education has shifted from in-person teaching and assessments to the virtual environment. Many education programs had previously adopted objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) to assess communication abilities in-person with standardized patients (SPs). However, comparative student outcome data between virtual and in-person methods as well as guidance on how to conduct communication-based OSCEs in the virtual environment is lacking. The University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SSPPS) describes its methods of conducting two types of communication-based OSCEs (patient counseling and gathering a medical history). Student performance data from the two virtual OSCEs in 2020 was compared to results from two 2019 in-person OSCEs using Mann Whitney U Tests. The 2020 cohort scored significantly higher than the 2019 cohort in all variables (i.e., using effective verbal and non-verbal communication, using patient friendly education, organizing the encounter, demonstrating empathy, establishing trust, professionalism) and in overall score. However, the effect size for these findings indicate the differences between performances are generally small and more likely due to changes in grading patterns due to the pandemic.

Students’ and Examiners’ Experiences of Their First Virtual Pharmacy Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in Australia during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…However, it should be noted that a recent systematic review examining the relationship between OSCE-associated test anxiety and OSCE performance found that there was little influence on student performance [ 22 ]. Another study compared the performance of two cohorts of pharmacy students with one cohort in 2020 that undertook the OSCE virtually during the pandemic and the second cohort in 2019 with traditional methods [ 23 ]. The authors found that students who undertook their OSCE virtually performed as well as those who completed it in-person via traditional methods [ 23 ].…”

Assessment practices in Geography under COVID-19: Limitations and opportunities

“…Several studies state that a switch to online teaching has had no impact on student learning quality (e.g. Jacques et al, 2020;Pócsová et al, 2021;Scoular et al, 2021) but the basis for such statements is not clear. In a developing world context in particular, where there are significant problems with computer availability, internet connection and internet data, there are marked disparities in interaction with online content and thus student engagement and achievement.…”

Educating pharmacy students through a pandemic: Reflecting on our COVID-19 experience

“…A decision was made to deliver the PRE online, to ensure that students could enter the register in a timely fashion. Delivery of OSCE-based examinations by virtual means has been described in the pharmacy literature, 32 and in our case took the format of a 9-station OSCE, delivered to 159 candidates across three Schools of Pharmacy via the Microsoft Teams® platform. Staff blueprinted, prepared, and reviewed the OSCE stations to ensure they were suitable for online delivery.…”