Twelve tips for conducting a virtual OSCE

Abstract

Recently many medical schools have faced the challenge of redesigning their existing assessments to run in a virtual format. We ran a virtual Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) for a group of final year students assessing clinical communication skills, written communication, practical skills, examination skills and professionalism. OSCEs provide the opportunity to test skills that written papers cannot, so it was important to include such a clinical exam in the portfolio of assessments for graduating students. The virtual OSCE ran smoothly and was successful at discriminating between candidates. In this article, we share twelve practical tips from our experience and the small body of literature on how to successfully design and deliver a virtual OSCE. This format provides an opportunity to run similar assessments in the future if remote assessments or assessments of telemedicine skills are required.

Keywords:

• Clinical
• OSCE
• computer-based

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Paula Raftery, who was our ‘superhost’, for her commitment and dedication to the organisation of the virtual OSCE. We would like to thank our hosts, examiners, role players and candidates for their enthusiasm in taking part in this novel format for assessment.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jenny Hopwood

Dr Jenny Hopwood is a Senior Clinical Teaching Fellow at UCL Medical School in the Assessment and Feedback Unit and is a GP.

Gil Myers

Dr Gil Myers is a Senior Clinical Teaching Fellow at UCL Medical School in the Assessment and Feedback Unit and is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist.

Alison Sturrock

Dr Alison Sturrock is an Associate Clinical Professor at UCL Medical School. She has been academic lead for assessment at UCLMS since 2008.