Objective Structured Clinical Examination for Essential Neurological Examination. Validation and Association Between the Score and the Learning Behaviors / 医学教育

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the role and validity of the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for neurological screening (Neuro-OSCE) performed by medical students and to analyze the association between Neuro-OSCE score and student behavior for acquiring skills. Method: A 31-item Neuro-OSCE was created for systematic and time-saving screening of neurological findings. At Saga Medical School, 44 final-year students took a screening neurological examination course and performed Neuro-OSCE from August through October 1998. A questionnaire asked about self-educational behaviors, such as self-evaluation, mental concentration, and self-learning (knowlege-based), and self-practicing time. The relationship between Neuro-OSCE score and self-educational behaviors were analyzed. statistically. Results: Cronbach's coefficient alpha was 0.731, which indicated fair internal validity. The mean Neuro-OSCE score was 51.2± 6.6 (SD). Neuro-OSCE score was correlated with self-practicing time and mental concentration but not with self-learning time or self-evaluation. Conclusion: Our Neuro-OSCE has construct validity in the psychomotor domain from a taxonomic viewpoint because the Neuro-OSCE score was correlated with self-practicing time rather than self-learning time. Mental concentration was better a self-assessment method than was self-evaluation. However, setting self-educational goals for neurological examination is probably too difficult at the undergraduate level. Objective assessment by Neuro-OSCE is expected to foster relevant learning behavior.