What do students perceive as fair oral examinations in the field of anatomy?

Oral exams deliver distinct advantages over written exams; however they are often criticized because of their poor standardization. In anatomical teaching they offer the opportunity to assess the practical capability of students within the context of real human specimens. The purpose of this study was to find out which format of oral examination students find most favourable and to analyze how this preferred examination format affects the result of the examination process. A comparative study was performed with students from consecutive summer terms. The five oral examinations during the dissection course were either performed in front of the entire group (approximately 20 students) or in front of small groups of 2-4 students. They were conducted by “their” lecturer (the person who instructed these students throughout the dissection course) or by an examiner unknown to the students. The majority of students in both cohorts preferred examination in small groups (2009: 71%, 2010: 62%) and felt uncomfortable when examined in large groups. 78% of the students in 2009 preferred taking exams by different lecturers. In 2010, only 21% favoured the rotation model whereas more than one half preferred taking exams by a single lecturer. In general students valued transparency and fairness such as clear communication of the results and comprehensible decisions by the examiners, higher than the actual format of the oral examination. Examination in small groups and by a single lecturer resulted in a clear reduction in the number of students who failed and helped to improve oral examination in context of academic teaching.