Development of an online objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) as an alternative to face-to-face assessment during COVID-19

In the undergraduate Exercise Physiology program at UNSW, Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) have been used in concert with other assessments of competency for close to a decade. In response to the challenges created by COVID-19, the Exercise Physiology clinical practicum team, led by Amanda Burdett, made changes to our OSCE; we deemed that online assessment provided a viable solution during the global pandemic. Various versions of online or virtual OSCEs have been developed, but to our knowledge we may have been the first group to have developed and implemented a completely online OSCE for Exercise Physiology assessment. Our online OSCE was subsequently adopted by the UNSW Medicine program and we received an award from the School of Medical Sciences for Adaptability & Innovation. We have now written a manuscript based on the online OSCE, "Development and evaluation of an online objective structured clinical exam for final year exercise physiology students as an alternative to face-to-face assessment during COVID-19", which is currently under review in a peer-reviewed journal. 

 

Congratulations from Professor Boaz Shulruf
School award for adaptability & innovation