OSCE's result was out this afternoon (1200hour G.M.T 14th Dec 07). Hours were spent worrying about the outcomes (well, not me at least, as I slept the whole morning- just to be woken up by my gay best friend, asking in a rather camp way- what is your result, huuuunnneyyy?) I was quite certain by then that he must has passed, as he sounded perky!
Gosh, all the worst nightmares were about to come true, except that they didn't. Goodlord!I passed my mine. So did my close colleagues (with very minimal scoring differences). Which only means one thing: Another reason for celebration! That and the fact that our Xmas break starts today. Eurostar trip anyone?
OSCE stands for Objective Structured Clinical Examination. It was a totally grueling experience for students. 14 stations (5mins each) back to back. With questions spanning across 3 modules: Psychiatry, Orthopaedics and Neurology. Passing mark: 54%. Failing this OSCE will make future life a living hell. (Have to repeat it and cancel any plan of overseas' Electives and extra work/teaching in 5th year- No thanks!)
I don't think OSCE is fair/legitimate way for assessing student. Period.
i) 5mins for each station? That is like ending the interview as soon as you finish the introduction part. Never in my clinical life an interview had ever been that quick. On average 15-35mins depending on which specialties. Take this for example: Doing a full risk assessment on a chap that attempted suicide in 5mins time. Building up the rapport alone took me 1min. The patient (simulated patient) couldn't be possibly nicer than he was, but still, it was difficult to get out infos from him. Or it can happen the other way.. talkative patient up to the point that one would be convinced that he must has had pressure of speech.
ii) A4 worth of text to be read in 30secs time. Most of my friends that I spoke to after the exam just couldn't believe how ridiculously long the history was. I barely had any time to scan through the whole passage. Confabulation skill came into practice that day. One of my friends who is dyslexic just broke in tears following that station. Poor girl. (I hope she still got good mark despite altered performances in subsequent stations.)
iii) Nerve got the better of most people. Including me, sadly! In real clinical setting, we are expected to think thoroughly for diagnosis/differentials, taking our time consulting senior doctors and discussing with others. Spot diagnosis was expected in most stations. Yeah I know some of them might be damn obvious, but being nervous doesn't exactly go hand in hand with making decision. I was very nervous that day, I could have easily become the "panic attack" patient myself.
What happen when one is nervous?
Gosh, all the worst nightmares were about to come true, except that they didn't. Goodlord!I passed my mine. So did my close colleagues (with very minimal scoring differences). Which only means one thing: Another reason for celebration! That and the fact that our Xmas break starts today. Eurostar trip anyone?
OSCE stands for Objective Structured Clinical Examination. It was a totally grueling experience for students. 14 stations (5mins each) back to back. With questions spanning across 3 modules: Psychiatry, Orthopaedics and Neurology. Passing mark: 54%. Failing this OSCE will make future life a living hell. (Have to repeat it and cancel any plan of overseas' Electives and extra work/teaching in 5th year- No thanks!)
I don't think OSCE is fair/legitimate way for assessing student. Period.
i) 5mins for each station? That is like ending the interview as soon as you finish the introduction part. Never in my clinical life an interview had ever been that quick. On average 15-35mins depending on which specialties. Take this for example: Doing a full risk assessment on a chap that attempted suicide in 5mins time. Building up the rapport alone took me 1min. The patient (simulated patient) couldn't be possibly nicer than he was, but still, it was difficult to get out infos from him. Or it can happen the other way.. talkative patient up to the point that one would be convinced that he must has had pressure of speech.
ii) A4 worth of text to be read in 30secs time. Most of my friends that I spoke to after the exam just couldn't believe how ridiculously long the history was. I barely had any time to scan through the whole passage. Confabulation skill came into practice that day. One of my friends who is dyslexic just broke in tears following that station. Poor girl. (I hope she still got good mark despite altered performances in subsequent stations.)
iii) Nerve got the better of most people. Including me, sadly! In real clinical setting, we are expected to think thoroughly for diagnosis/differentials, taking our time consulting senior doctors and discussing with others. Spot diagnosis was expected in most stations. Yeah I know some of them might be damn obvious, but being nervous doesn't exactly go hand in hand with making decision. I was very nervous that day, I could have easily become the "panic attack" patient myself.
What happen when one is nervous?
- Forget key points (even if you already gone through/practiced that station for hundreds of time)
- Nervous behaviours: inc nervous smiles, tremors, blank moments, nail bitting, scratching- which would in the end make you look like an idiot (you are not really!) (Editor's Note: p53 didn't do any of this, she tried to pretend as if everything was going on well, so much so, she looked like she was in mild catatonic state. Still, her nerve really did got her that day, with loudly audible sigh after each stations and jumping/victory dance for stations that she performed well)
- Being mark down simply because you don't look confident (or convincing enough)
iv) The whole affair is very stressful. Imagine being kept in quarantine for the whole day just because you are in the last cycle of the examination day. On top of that, add 2 more hours of delay. Arrghghhh.. o..oo..ooh, plus we are being shuffle over to different base hospitals because some people think that examiners (doctors from one base hospital) favour their own students. This means unnecessary traveling on what would be described as the most important day of the semester. Then you have all this paranoid students who did bring big books and asked questions and tips right before the exam. Hello, study period was sooo over for me, hun! Chill man! Waiting was stressful enough for me, that's why I don't think I was that keen when you asked me to pretend as if I'm a psychotic patient. You know what psychotic means? Me bashing you with Kumar and Clark (with help of a lot of other people that felt the same) and then throwing out your dead, cold body on the busiest street in BIG CITY. And then, claiming a voice told me to do so. Under Mental Health Act, I'm forever spared as I lost my capacity long before the exam day.
vi) Examiners: discrepancies in marking and their behaviour. I don't know what exactly I had done wrong that some of my stations that I got 4 out 7. On the other hand, there were stations that I thought I'm definitely gonna fail, but I didn't just because the examiners gave me, rather miraculously, good marks for. Some examiners on the exam day behaved as if they have no mercy all at. Forget courtesy and interpersonal relationship. Yeah, I know that examination is not a place one would go to make new friends, but hey, all least show some respect, we (students, despite lacking in medical knowledge) are human being too. I'm not being a softie here, but isn't that a value that they are looking for in a medical team. Respect others. Stop treating us like we come from the lowest kasta. If you don't like students at all, don't be an examiner. Why bother in the first place. huh.
In short, I hate and dread OSCE!
vi) Examiners: discrepancies in marking and their behaviour. I don't know what exactly I had done wrong that some of my stations that I got 4 out 7. On the other hand, there were stations that I thought I'm definitely gonna fail, but I didn't just because the examiners gave me, rather miraculously, good marks for. Some examiners on the exam day behaved as if they have no mercy all at. Forget courtesy and interpersonal relationship. Yeah, I know that examination is not a place one would go to make new friends, but hey, all least show some respect, we (students, despite lacking in medical knowledge) are human being too. I'm not being a softie here, but isn't that a value that they are looking for in a medical team. Respect others. Stop treating us like we come from the lowest kasta. If you don't like students at all, don't be an examiner. Why bother in the first place. huh.
In short, I hate and dread OSCE!
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