Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE)

All MD and DO students are required to take a practical examination that evaluates their clinical skills as part of their National Boards. This examination is taken during the 4th year of medical school. This type of examination is often called an Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE).

The OSCE utilizes standardized patients who are lay people who receive intensive training to accurately depict specific illnesses. The student performs clinical tasks in a series of test stations while interacting with this patient.

Standardized checklists are used to evaluate each student physician. Every student physician sees the same problems and is asked to perform the same tasks. The tasks are representative of those faced in real clinical situations.

The OSCE is used to teach patient-centered skills and to measure a student's clinical performance. Some of the key areas this examination measures include:

• doctor-patient communication
• medical history taking
• physical examination skills
• written communication skills
• clinical problem-solving
• formulating a differential diagnosis
• formulating a therapeutic plan

In addition to simulated patient encounters during years one and two, WVSOM currently conducts an OSCE during year 2 and at the end of year 3. This provides students with two structured board-like OSCEs before taking the Clinical Examination of Boards during their 4th year of medical school.

Information gathered from the OSCE is used by the school to evaluate and improve clinical experiences and curricular content.