Using children as standardized patients in OSCE in pediatric occupational therapy

Abstract

Background: Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) have been administered in physical and psychiatric occupational therapy (OT) education, but not in pediatric OT education. The objectives were to examine the satisfaction and the influences of OSCE in pediatric OT on all participants.

Methods: The OSCE contained evaluation, intervention, and parent education stations. Sixty examinees, 44 child standardized patients (SPs), 44 chaperones, three playroom managers, 14 OSCE assistants, and 15 examiners participated in the OSCE. An OSCE video and three playrooms were prepared for child SPs.

Results: Ninety percent of the child SPs liked taking part in the OSCE and 75–85% expressed interest in participating in an OSCE the following year. Their parents appreciated the chaperones accompanying their children and giving them a memorable day. 88.3% of the examinees thought that the OSCE was helpful for their upcoming clinical training. 73.3% preferred the OSCE over the written exam. 60–93.4% considered the implementation appropriate. Most of the examiners thought that the content (80–100%) and the implementation (93.3–100%) were appropriate. Many chaperones reported having valuable experiences.

Conclusions: It is practical using child SPs in OSCE in pediatric OT. The OSCE was beneficial to all participants. It is recommended that OSCEs be included in pediatric OT education.

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the child SPs, their parents, the examiners, the playroom managers, the examinees, the chaperones, and the OSCE assistants, who participated in this study. This study was supported by research grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology, R.O.C. (105-2511-S-030-004).

Disclosure statement

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

Glossary

Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE): The OSCE is an approach to the assessment of clinical competence in which the components of competence are assessed in a planned or structured way with attention being paid to the objectivity of the examination.

Harden RM. 1988. What is an OSCE? Med Teach. 10:19–22.

Notes on contributors

Chung-Pei Fu, PhD, is the main person in charge of the OSCE in pediatric OT.

Jiann-Horng Yeh, MD, is the Director of the clinical skills center.

Chia-Ting Su, PhD, is the Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, Fu Jen Catholic University and teaches the curriculum of pediatric OT.

Chien-Hsiou Liu, PhD, helps to design and implement the OSCE and is also the examiner of the OSCE.

Wan-Ying Chang, MS, is one of the expert committee and the examiner of the OSCE.

Yu-Lan Chen, MS, is one of the expert committee and the examiner of the OSCE.

Ai-Lun Yang, PhD, helps to revise the manuscript.

Chih-Chia Wang, PhD, is the expert on research ethics and law and helps to design the research, especially on protecting the child SPs.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by research grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology, R.O.C. (Taiwan) (105-2511-S-030-004).