Performance-based assessment of clinical ethics using an objective structured clinical examination.
OBJECTIVE
To further examine the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) as a performance-based assessment method for clinical ethics.


METHODS
In the spring of 1993, a volunteer sample of 88 final-year medical students from all five Ontario medical schools took a four-station OSCE that used standardized patients and involved decisions to forego life-sustaining treatment. Performance was scored on a checklist of behaviors unique to each case. Data were analyzed for reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients and the Spearman-Brown prophecy formula.


RESULTS
Reliability of the test was only .28 as a result of a low average inter-station correlation of .07. To achieve a test reliability of .8, 41 stations (almost seven hours of testing time) would be required.


CONCLUSIONS
Because of its low test reliability, the OSCE is not a feasible stand-alone method for summative evaluation of clinical ethics. This performance-based evaluation method should be combined with other, more reliable evaluation methods. The OSCE has promise for formative evaluation.
Singer
P A
PA
Department of Medicine, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, Ontario, Canada. peter.singer@utoronto.ca
Robb
A
A
Cohen
R
R
Norman
G
G
Turnbull
J
J
D004521:Educational Measurement; D004992:Ethics, Medical / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D011361:Professional Competence; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*