Michael Poulton 

The integration of near peer assessors (NPAs) in Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) has gained prominence within medical education. Existing literature underscores NPAs' potential to enhance formative assessment processes by providing relatable insights, quality feedback to peers, and cultivating critical assessment skills (1,2). This project investigated the perceptions of faculty examiners, Year 3 medical students, and Year 4 near peer assessors regarding the integration of NPAs in formative OSCEs. 

Faculty examiners (n=8), Year 3 medical students as peer assessed participants (n=29), and Year 4 students as NPAs (n=18) from a single Victorian clinical school were engaged in a seven station formative OSCE. An individualised written survey was provided to each group of participants at the end of the OSCE. Responses to statements were given via a five point Likert scale and free text responses were collected. 

Initial survey results demonstrated favourable opinions among faculty examiners and Year 3 students regarding the involvement of NPAs in formative OSCEs. Both groups recognized advantages such as heightened student engagement, enriched peer-based learning in a supportive environment and the ability of NPAs to provide valuable insights and constructive feedback. Faculty examiners agreed that maintaining consistency, standardisation and objectivity among near peer assessors may be challenging; a viewpoint not shared by the majority of the Year 4 NPA cohort. Free text responses suggested that Year 4 NPAs valued the experience for the development and refinement of their own clinical skills and assessment literacy. The role of additional training and support for near peer assessors to fulfil the role requirements effectively was consistently highlighted by all participants. 

The results of this project contribute to the growing body of evidence reporting on the benefits, challenges, and effectiveness of utilizing NPAs as contributors to the assessment process, and lends support to their routine use in formative OSCEs. 

References (maximum three) 

1. Khan, R., Payne, M. W., & Chahine, S. (2017). Peer assessment in the Objective Structured Clinical Examination: A scoping review. Medical Teacher, 39(7), 745–756. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159x.2017.1309375 

2. Schwill, S., Fahrbach-Veeser, J., Moeltner, A., Eicher, C., Kurczyk, S., Pfisterer, D., Szecsenyi, J., & Loukanova, S. (2020). Peers as OSCE assessors for Junior Medical Students 

– a review of routine use: A mixed methods study. BMC Medical Education, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1898-y