INTRODUCTION The main aim of medical education is to foster the development of clinical competence in students at all levels. Differences in experiences, methods of instruction and ambiguous forms of assessment are obstacles to attaining this goal. Dissatisfaction with the conventional methods of clinical assessment on the part of teachers and students led assessors to search for appropriate al...

An objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) was introduced at the end of the fourth year undergraduate paediatric training. We have compared the results obtained with those of our traditional method of assessment. We feel that the OSCE is a valid and reliable assessment; it provided good feedback and was well received by the students.

Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) was introduced in 1975 as a standardized tool for objectively assessing clinical competencies - including history-taking, physical examination, communication skills, data interpretation etc. It consists of a circuit of stations connected in series, with each station devoted to assessment of a particular competency using pre-determined guidelines ...