Publication:

Perception of first year MBBS students on objective structured practical examination as an assessment tool in biochemistry

Background It is an undeniable fact that assessment drives learning. It is documented that traditional practical examination has several drawbacks. Further, the subjectivity also affects the correlation negatively between marks awarded by different examiners and therefore on the performance of an equivalent candidate. The objective of objective structured practical examination (OSPE) is to reduce the chances of examiner bias and assess the students’ skills. Aim was to introduce objective structured practical examination (OSPE) as a method of assessment of practical skills in Biochemistry and to determine the perception of students’ regarding OSPE.

Methods It is a qualitative, observational study conducted at Department of Biochemistry, Assam Medical College, Assam, India. The first Professional MBBS students were evaluated by using OSPE to assess their practical perspective in Biochemistry. A pre-validated questionnaire-based on a 5-point Likert scale and descriptive type on various components of the OSPE was administered to get the feedback. Statistical analysis used: Microsoft Excel and GraphPad Prism 8 software were applied.

Results Most of the students favoured OSPE as an assessment tool. About 82% of students agreed that OSPE helps to score better; 62.3% stated that OSPE eliminates bias in exams; 91.6% supported OSPE to be incorporated as a formative assessment.

Conclusions The study favours OSPE as a reliable assessment tool for practical examination in biochemistry. OSPE is more objective and eliminates examiner bias and helps to evaluate all three learning domains - cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains.