Physical Therapy students’ perception of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination: a mixed methods approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/Keywords:
Active Learning, Educational Assessment, PerceptionAbstract
The objective structured clinical examination
(OSCE) has become a popular approach for assessing
clinical competence in health programs. Although OSCE
is widely acknowledged for its validity and reproducibility
in assessing clinical skills, Physical Therapy students’
perceptions of this approach remain underexplored. This study aims to analyze the views of Physical Therapy students on
the educational efficacy of OSCE, evaluating its strengths and
weaknesses. This descriptive study with mixed method approach
surveyed students about OSCE, combining quantitative and
qualitative analysis. OSCE in Respiratory Physical Therapy
was conducted as part of the course assessment. Physical
Therapy students were invited to complete a survey addressing
their perceptions of exam relevance, logistics, and impact. The
instrument comprised 17 closed-ended and five open-ended
questions. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive
statistics, while qualitative data were subjected to content
analysis, performed independently by two investigators. In total,
63 students (87% women, 22.5±1.76 years) completed the survey.
Overall, 73% of participants found the exam to be both relevant
and effective, while 74.6% acknowledged its contribution to their
learning. Additionally, 68.3% believed that the experience aided
in their preparation for clinical practice. Positive and negative
themes have emerged from the content analysis. For instance,
positive aspects include immediate feedback at the end of
the exam and simulated clinical experiences, while negative
aspects encompass anxiety, time constraints, and a stressful
environment. This study demonstrated that Physical Therapy
students perceive OSCE as a valuable learning method. They
appreciated the training it provided in human relationships for
clinical practice, while simultaneously identifying stress as a
notable negative aspect.
Downloads
References
Miller GE. The assessment of clinical skills/competence/
performance. Acad Med. 1990;65(9 Suppl):S63-7. doi:
1097/00001888-199009000-00045
Harden RM, Stevenson M, Downie WW, Wilson GM. Assessment
of clinical competence using objective structured examination.
Br Med J. 1975;1:447-51. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5955.447
Khan KZ, Ramachandran S, Gaunt K, Pushkar P. The Objective
Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE): AMEE Guide No. 81.
Part I: an historical and theoretical perspective. Med Teach.
;35(9):e1437-46. doi: 10.3109/0142159X.2013.818634
Cacho RO, Baroni MP, Ruaro JA, Lopes JM, Britto HMJS, et
al. Active methods in physical therapy: intereliability study of
the OSCE method. Rev Bras Educ Med. 2016;40:128-37. doi:
1590/1981-52712015v40n1e01582014
De Oliveira FAM, Porto FR, Ribeiro CG, Haddad AE, Oliveira
RG, et al. Objective structured clinical examination, OSCEs: an
advance in the teaching and learning process in the student’s
perception. Rev Odontol UNESP. 2019;48:e20190027. doi:
1590/1807-2577.02719
Troncon LEA. Clinical skills assessment: limitations to the
introduction of an "OSCE" (Objective Structured Clinical
Examination) in a traditional Brazilian medical school. São Paulo
Med J. 2004;122:12-17. doi: 10.1590/S1516-31802004000100004
Ribeiro AM, Ferla AA, Amorim JSC. Objective structured clinical
examination in physiotherapy teaching: a systematic review.
Fisioter Mov. 2019;32:e003214. doi: 10.1590/1980-5918.032.
AO14
Norcini J, Anderson BM, Bollela V, Burch V, Costa MJ, et al.
Consensus framework for good assessment. Med Teach.
;40(11):1102-9. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2018.1500016
Norcini J, Anderson B, Bollela V, Burch V, Costa MJ, et al.
Criteria for good assessment: consensus statement and
recommendations from the Ottawa 2010 Conference. Med
Teach. 2011;33(3):206-14. doi: 10.3109/0142159X.2011.551559
Sekhon M, Cartwright M, Francis JJ. Acceptability of healthcare
interventions: an overview of reviews and development of a
theoretical framework. BMC Health Serv Res. 2017;17(1):88.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-017-2031-8
Yalcin BM, Unal M, Pirdal H, Karahan TF. The effect of
a stress and anxiety coping programme on objective
structured clinical exam performance in medical students, a
randomised clinical trial. Educ Psychol. 2015;44(8):911-24. doi:
1080/01443410.2015.1050355
Mojarrab S, Bazrafkan L, Jaberi A. The effect of a stress
and anxiety coping program on objective structured
clinical examination performance among nursing students
in Shiraz, Iran. BMC Med Educ. 2020;20(1):301. doi: 10.1186/
s12909-020-02228-9
Johnston ANB, Weeks B, Shuker MA, Coyne E, Niall H, et al.
Nursing students’ perceptions of the objective structured
clinical examination: an integrative review. Clin Simul Nurs.
;13(3):127-42. doi: 10.1016/j.ecns.2016.11.002
Tovin MM, Wormley ME. Systematic development of standards
for mixed methods reporting in rehabilitation health sciences
research. Phys Ther. 2023;103(11): pzad084. doi: 10.1093/ptj/
pzad084
Creswell JW, Plano Clark VL. Designing and conducting
mixed methods research. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Publications Inc; 2017.
Silva CCBM, Lunardi AC, Mendes AR, Souza FFP, Carvalho
CRF. Objective structured clinical evaluation as an assessment
method for undergraduate chest physical therapy students: a
cross-sectional study. Braz J Phys Ther. 2011;15(6):481-6. doi:
1590/s1413-35552011005000033
Barman A. Critiques on the Objective Structured Clinical
Examination. Ann Acad Med Singap. 2005;34(8):478-82. PMID:
Mendes RM, Miskulin RGS. A análise de conteúdo como
uma metodologia. Cad Pesqui. 2017;47(165):1044-66. doi:
1590/198053143988
Kleinheksel AJ, Rockich-Winston N, Tawfik H, Wyatt
TR. Demystifying content analysis. Am J Pharm Educ.
;84(1):7113. doi: 10.5688/ajpe7113
Quigley D, Regan J. Introduction of the Objective Structured
Clinical Examination in speech and language therapy education:
student perspectives. Folia Phoniatr Logop. 2021;73(4):316-25.
doi: 10.1159/000508445
Jaiswal P, Mehta RK. Medical students’ perception regarding
objective structured clinical examination in medical college,
Chitwan. JCMC. 2019;9(1):52-60. doi: 10.3126/jcmc.v9i1.23786
Majumder MAA, Kumar A, Krishnamurthy K, Ojeh N, Adams
OP, et al. An evaluative study of objective structured clinical
examination (OSCE): students and examiners perspectives.
Adv Med Educ Pract. 2019;10:387-97. doi: 10.2147/AMEP.S197275
Maloney S, Storr M, Paynter S, Morgan P, Ilic D. Investigating
the efficacy of practical skill teaching: a pilot-study comparing
three educational methods. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract.
;18(1):71-80. doi: 10.1007/s10459-012-9355-2
Ferreira EMR, Pinto RZ, Arantes PMM, Vieira ELM, Teixeira
AL, et al. Stress, anxiety, self-efficacy, and the meanings that
physical therapy students attribute to their experience with
an objective structured clinical examination. BMC Med Educ.
;20(1):296. doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-02202-5
Gutiérrez LFH, Caro AMJ, Arias JAC. Construcción de una
escala sobre acepciones, percepciones y sensaciones durante
la ECOE en estudiantes de Medicina. Educ Med Super. 2019
[cited 2025 Jun 23];33(3):e1730. Available from: https://ems.
sld.cu/index.php/ems/article/view/1730/878
Zimmermann MH, Silveira RMC, Gomes RZ. The teacher and the
art of evaluating in medical teaching at a university in Brazil. Rev
Bras Educ Med. 2019;43(3):5-15. doi: 10.1590/1981-52712015v4
n3RB20180167
Ferreira ITP, Sabela AKDA, Junqueira A, Honório JPP, Freitas
CEA, et al. Assessment of clinical skills in cardiovascular
physiotherapy: Objective Structured Clinical Examination
(OSCE). Fisioter Mov. 2024;37:e37128. doi: 10.1590/
fm.2024.37128
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Thiago Oliveira Santos, Priscila Gomes de Jesus Oliveira, Rafaela Oliveira Silva, Lília Maria Mendes Bernardi, Raquel Annon
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
