Objective structured clinical examinations as an assessment tool in pharmacy curricula

The pharmacy education literature reveals that the clinical performance of students is less than that expected by faculty. Because assessment methods can substantially influence education, poor performance may be improved with more innovative methods of clinical assessment,such as those that involve the use of standardized patients. This manuscript describes the development, coordination, and assessment of the objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) administered over three semesters to the same class of students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Results of this project indicate that despite the substantial financial expenditures associated with administering OSCEs,both students and faculty find these exams a valuable learning experience.