Abstract:

Background:
Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCEs) is a form of performance-based testing used to measure candidates’ clinical competence. During an OSCE, candidates are observed and evaluated as they go through a series of stations in which they interview, examine and treat standardized patients (SP) who present with some type of medical problem.
Everyone acknowledges that bioethics is an important component of patient care and it should be taught to medical students, and post-graduate trainees. However, very little is known about how best to evaluate bioethics.

Aim:
We propose to applied the technology of the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) using standardized patients to the evaluation of bioethics.

Methodology:
An objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is proposed with assessment outcomes for reliability, validity and generalizability for the entry-to-practice context in doctors in hospital residency. Statistical analysis was perform for all the data (descriptive analysis) for all data was undertaken, and detailed analysis of data from Form I of the OSCE are reported.

Results:
A total of 110 participants were involved. One balanced form of an OSCE were developed, consisting of 15 stations (10 interactive and 5 non-interactive). The ethics OSCE has adequate inter-observer reliability, face/content validity, and construct validity.

Conclusions:
We conclude that OSCE applied to ethical aspects is an important and complementary tool for assessment the ethical competences of the future specialists. Because of the low internal consistency reliability of the ethics OSCE, we recommend a multi-method approach to the evaluation of bioethics competences.

Keywords:

Objective Structured Clinical Examination, Ethical Competences, Postgraduate Residents.