Use of computer-based clinical examination
to assess medical students in surgery
AbstractIntroduction. To improve the viewing of the video-projected structured clinical examination (ViPSCE), we developed a comput-erizedversion; the computer-based clinical examination (CCE). This was used to assess medical students' higher knowledge and problem solvingskills in surgery. We present how we did this, test score descriptive statistics, and the students' evaluation of the CCE.
Methods. A CCE insurgery was administered to assess a class of 43 final year medical students at the end of their surgical clerkship. Like the ViPSCE, the exam was delivered as a slide show, using a PowerPoint computer program. However, instead of projecting it onto a screen, each student used a computer. There were 20 slides containing either still photos or short video clips of clinical situations in surgery. The students answeredby hand writing on the exam papers. At the end, they completed evaluation forms. The exam papers were corrected manually. Test score descriptive statistics were calculated and correlated with the students' scores in other exams in surgery.
Results. Administration of the CCE was straightforward. The test scores were normally distributed (mean = median = 4.9). They correlated significantly with the total scores obtained by the students in surgery (r=0.68), and with each of the other exam modalities in surgery, such as the multiple choice and structured essay questions. Acceptability of the CCE to the students was high and they recommended the use of the CCE in other departments.
Discussion. CCE is feasible and popular with students. It inherits the validity and reliability of the ViPSCE with the added advantage of improving the viewing of the slides.
Keywords:• assessment of medical students
• computer assisted assessment (CAA)
• computer-based assessment (CBA)
• е-assessment of surgical clerkship examination
• оbjective structured clinical exam (OSCE)
• undergraduate medical education
• video-projected structured clinical examination (ViPSCE)
Meditsinskoe obrazovanie i professional’noe razvitie [Medical Education and Professional Development]. 2016; (3): 113–122.