Assessing clinical skills of medical students.

The clinical skills of sophomore medical students at the University of Arkansas are being assessed through the use of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). This exam was developed in order to better standardize the evaluation of practical clinical skills. The exam uses standardized patients, who are lay people trained to accurately and consistently portray a patient encounter. Faculty members at UAMS authored clinical cases for 20 patient encounters that test history taking, physical examination and communication skills. Each student interacts with the patient while being assessed in a standardized way, and then is given educational feedback by a faculty member. Students who do not pass the exam, undergo a remediation program prior to entering the junior year.