Abstract:

Background:
Knowledge of basic medical clinical skills in dentistry ensures that dental and oral health graduates are competent enough to perform holistic dental management effectively and safely with patients in a clinical environment and in medical emergencies. Assessment of these clinical skills is an essential element of the educational capability of dental students as it warrants that students are acquiring the necessary knowledge, procedural/technical skills and critical thinking abilities.

Aim:
The objective of this study was to assess, evaluate and compare the effectiveness of different assessment strategies in dental students’ performance during the clinical skills assessment.

Methods:
The focus group of this study were the end of year examination for 2nd year dental students from Griffith University during 2013-2015. A total of 268 students were examined over three years with different assessment methods such as the use of simulated patients (n=59), standardized oral examination in a face-to-face viva format (n=100) and an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) (n=109). Marks obtained by students at the end of semester by each method was retrospectively analysed using SPSS. Qualitative responses from students on various assessment modules were also evaluated.

Results:
The mean scores of the three assessment methods indicated that the OSCE was highly effective in evaluating dental student’s clinical skills (Mean score= 87.06 + 12) compared to assessments using simulated patients (Mean score= 59.93 + 11) and face-to-face viva examination (Mean score= 68.73 + 13). Multivariate analysis using ANOVA showed a significant correlation between these three assessment evaluations (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions:
This study, to our knowledge is the first to report the effectiveness of multiple assessment strategies for medical clinical skills in dental education. OSCE format was noted to be the most effective assessment tool in evaluating various clinical skills in dental students which is currently the gold standard in our institution. Current results are in consensus with existing reports on the effectiveness of OSCE in learning and teaching of health disciplines.