Peter Tzakas¹
Aurthi Muthukumaran² and Sharona Kanofsky¹
1 University of Toronto
2 Univ of Toronto

The purpose of this workshop is to guide educators interested in developing their own virtual OSCE (vOSCE). The pandemic had prompted educators everywhere to pivot toward virtual modes of teaching and assessment. Some innovations developed in response to the pandemic will endure, having demonstrated significant advantages compared to traditional methods. One such innovation is the vOSCE. In our program, we successfully delivered a fully integrated virtual OSCE to assess our senior learners, in place of our traditional face-to-face OSCE. Student and rater surveys indicated favourable acceptance of this format. Given the relative advantages of the vOSCE, it will likely continue to develop as a prominent component of learner assessment in the foreseeable future. Reasons to transition from traditional to virtual OSCEs may include social distancing requirements in a pandemic, geographic distribution of health professions education, and a shift toward virtual healthcare delivery, with a need to assess related skills. 

2. Why is the topic important for research and/ for practice? 

This workshop will help health professions educators determine if a vOSCE is right for their context. Using a step-by-step process, participants will develop the knowledge and skills to plan and deliver a vOSCE appropriate for their individual setting. 

3. Symposium format, including participant engagement methods 

5 min Welcome and Introduction 

10 In small groups, participants will share their current OSCE structure and discuss their program’s context-specific considerations for shifting to a virtual format. 

10 Large group debrief, with small groups sharing examples. Presenters will highlight and summarize common considerations for shifting to vOSCE. 

20 The presenters will describe the current literature and their own experiences developing a vOSCE, including relative advantages and disadvantages. Worksheets and instructions will be introduced for the next activity. 

15 In small groups, participants will work through a structured stepwise approach to develop an outline for their own vOSCE. 

20 Large group debrief, with small groups sharing examples. Presenters will highlight key points, similarities, and differences. The group will identify potential barriers and brainstorm possible solutions. 

5 Participants will develop individualized take-home goals and identify the next steps. 5 Wrap-up 

4. Take-home messages/symposium outcomes / implications for further research and/or practice 

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: 

1. Craig C, Kasana N, Modi A. Virtual OSCE delivery: The way of the future? Medical Education. 2020;54(12):1185-1186. 

2. Hopwood J, Myers G, Sturrock A. Twelve tips for conducting a virtual OSCE. Medical Teacher. 2020:1-4. 

3. Kanofsky S, Tzakas P. Virtual OSCEs for the Pandemic and Beyond. J Physician Assist Educ. 2022;33(2):152-155. 

Nicholas Yaghmour¹
James Kwan² and Fremen Chou³
1 ACGME
2 Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore
3 China Medical University Hospital,Taichung, Taiwan 

When implementing and innovating competency-based assessment and feedback processes, post-graduate medical education leaders face many challenges. Program leaders and faculty assessors do not become experts overnight, and trainees can be unreceptive to programmatic changes. 

Emphasizing varying contextual programmatic forces, this workshop will enable program leaders and faculty assessors to understand their own unique developmental challenges and point them toward 1) improving the efficiency of their assessment and feedback processes and toward 2) fostering trainee engagement and receptivity to such changes. 

Participants will learn the characteristics of three stages of implementation: 1) the resource intensive early implementation stage of assessment and feedback innovations, resource expenditures tend to be high while stakeholder (trainee and faculty) engagement tends to be low; 2) the transitional implementation stage where programmatic processes begin to show signs of efficiency and some modest stakeholder engagement is demonstrated; 3) the later implementation stage where processes are highly efficient and trainees and assessors are highly engaged and perceive programmatic assessment and feedback processes to be highly valuable. By sharing examples from relevant literature, discussing their own challenges and successes with peers, and employing a data-driven developmental rubric, participants will create achievable developmental goals for their programs. 

We will use a combination of educational strategies to maximise the interaction and engagement of participants: 

Who should participate?
Post-graduate medical education program and institutional leaders, faculty assessors 

Level of workshop 

Intermediate 

Take-home messages 

Implementing and innovating assessment and feedback systems are developmental journeys for programs and institutions. 

Process efficiency and stakeholder engagement improve steadily and iteratively. 

Characterizing your current programmatic or institutional challenges can signal how best to target resources for further development. 

References (maximum three) 

Hsiao, C. T., Chou, F. C., Hsieh, C. C., Chang, L. C., & Hsu, C. M. (2020). Developing a competency-based learning and assessment system for residency training: analysis study of user requirements and acceptance. Journal of medical Internet research, 22(4), e15655. 

Jahn, H.K., Kwan, J., O’Reilly, G. et al. Towards developing a consensus assessment framework for global emergency medicine fellowships. BMC Emerg Med 19, 68 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-019-0286-6 

Yaghmour, N. A., Poulin, L. J., Bernabeo, E. C., Ekpenyong, A., Li, S. T. T., Eden, A. R., ... & Holmboe, E. S. (2021). Stages of milestones implementation: a template analysis of 16 programs across 4 specialties. Journal of graduate medical education, 13(2s), 14-44