An adaptation of the objective structured clinical examination to a final year medical student course in anaesthesia and intensive care.

The Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at the Chinese University of Hong Kong provides a 4 week course in our specialty for final year medical students. Our curriculum covers basic concepts in anaesthesia and intensive care, management of common medical emergencies and the safe performance of basic practical skills. For the last 4 years we have used an adaptation of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination to assess learning. Question stations included the use of manikins to assess practical skills, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation and airway management, identification and description of the use of equipment and interpretation of clinical scenarios and investigations. We believe that our adaptation of the Objective Structural Clinical Examination is better than traditional methods of examination and it has allowed us to identify deficiencies in our teaching methods. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination has been well received by our students and is perceived by them to be a fair reflection of their level of knowledge and skill attainment during the course.