Louise Curley¹
Emma Batey¹, Melanie Begovic¹, John Egan¹ and Sachin Thakur¹ 
1 The University of Auckland 

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are recognised to be a source of anxiety and stress (1). Mock OSCEs reduce levels of anxiety and improve confidence (1), however, create significant demands on resources, including time, cost, staffing and preparation. Recent evidence has indicated that use of technology could also help students prepare for OSCEs (2). 

We recognised an opportunity to design and build an online learning experience to aid with preparation for OSCEs. The design of this ‘OSCE toolkit’ took into consideration core principles of e-learning, e.g., using Bates and Poole’s SECTIONS framework and the seminal work by Anderson (3). We developed an interactive book in H5P for students to access. The interactive resource encompassed 3 core sections: 1) Background information; 2) Course- specific OSCE logistics and 3) Stations. Section three contained eight key features plus interactive elements for students to engage with, for each station. Features included videos role playing the station and debriefing discussions. Questionnaires were completed by students to investigate their perceptions of resources to aid with OSCE preparation and the specific features of the toolkit that they found useful. Overall, positive responses emerged, and suggestions for further improvements. 

The OSCE toolkit has the potential to be a useful online resource to help prepare students for their OSCE. Care needs to be taken that the resource meets best-practice guidance, has individual feedback to the student and is authentic. The use of technology to help prepare students for OSCEs, is in line with research by Flood and colleagues (2), who reported that video cases support students in preparation for high stakes OSCEs. 

Development of a comprehensive online resource toolkit could be an alternative method of equipping students for OSCEs, however, these should be systematically designed to ensure they are integrated and meaningful. 

References (maximum three) 

1. Robinson P, Morton L, Haran H, Manton R. Mock OSCEs improve medical Students' confidence and reduce anxiety related to summative examinations. Education in Medicine Journal. 2017 Apr 1;9(2):41-5. 

2. Flood M, Strawbridge J, Sheachnasaigh EN, Ryan T, Sahm LJ, Fleming A, Barlow JW. Supporting pharmacy students' preparation for an entry-to-practice OSCE using video cases. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning. 2022 Dec 1;14(12):1525-34. 

3. Anderson T. Towards a theory of online learning. Theory and practice of online learning. 2004;2:109-19.