Biomaterial Database

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination as an educational tool in patient safety. 2007

Prathibha Varkey, and Neena Natt

Division of Preventive and Occupational Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. Varkey.prathibha@mayo.edu

BACKGROUND The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an assessment tool characterized by the use of "lay" people trained to respond to questions in a standardized fashion. The learner's performance is observed and scored against a checklist of responses or behaviors. An OSCE station related to the communication and management of prescription errors was introduced in 2003 as part of a quality improvement (QI) curriculum at Mayo Medical School. METHODS All 42 third-year medical students took part in this pilot study, which was designed to evaluate the usefulness of an OSCE station as an assessment and educational tool for managing prescription errors. RESULTS Thirty-three (76.7%) students agreed that the OSCE station enhanced their awareness of medication errors. Thirty (71.4%) students felt that their comfort level with communicating prescription errors to patients increased. Specific feedback regarding root cause analysis, collaboration with the pharmacist for error analysis, interpersonal and communication skills feedback from the faculty, and use of the standardized patient and of an actual prescription that led to a medication error, were found especially valuable. CONCLUSIONS This pilot study demonstrates the potential use of the OSCE as an assessment and educational tool in QI and patient safety. The OSCE approximates a "live clinical setting" and provides an opportunity for the assessment of situational awareness and response, as well as formative and summative feedback to students.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007398	Interpersonal Relations	The reciprocal interaction of two or more persons.	Social Relationships,Husband-Wife Communication,Partner Communication,Communication, Husband-Wife,Communication, Partner,Husband Wife Communication,Husband-Wife Communications,Interpersonal Relation,Partner Communications,Relation, Interpersonal,Relationship, Social,Social Relationship
D008487	Medical History Taking	Acquiring information from a patient on past medical conditions and treatments.	Medical History, Previous,Past Medical History, Family,Previous Medical History,Family Health History,Family History, Health,Family History, Medical,Family Medical History,History Taking, Medical,Family Health Histories,Family Medical Histories,Health Family Histories,Health Family History,Health History, Family,History, Previous Medical,Medical Family Histories,Medical Family History,Medical Histories, Previous,Medical History, Family,Previous Medical Histories
D008508	Medication Errors	Errors in prescribing, dispensing, or administering medication with the result that the patient fails to receive the correct drug or the indicated proper drug dosage.	Drug Use Error,Errors, Medication,High-Alert Drug Error,High-Alert Medication Error,LASA Medication Errors,Look-Alike Drug Name Errors,Look-Alike Sound-Alike Drug Errors,Look-Alike Sound-Alike Drug Substitution Errors,Look-Alike Sound-Alike Medication Errors,Lookalike Drug Name Errors,Lookalike Soundalike Drug Errors,Lookalike Soundalike Drug Substitution Errors,Lookalike Soundalike Medication Errors,Drug Error, High-Alert,Drug Use Errors,Error, Drug Use,Error, LASA Medication,Error, Medication,High Alert Drug Error,High Alert Medication Error,High-Alert Drug Errors,High-Alert Medication Errors,LASA Medication Error,Look Alike Drug Name Errors,Look Alike Sound Alike Drug Errors,Look Alike Sound Alike Drug Substitution Errors,Look Alike Sound Alike Medication Errors,Medication Error,Medication Error, High-Alert,Medication Error, LASA,Medication Errors, High-Alert,Medication Errors, LASA
D010808	Physical Examination	Systematic and thorough inspection of the patient for physical signs of disease or abnormality.	Physical Exam,Examination, Physical,Physical Examinations and Diagnoses,Exam, Physical,Examinations, Physical,Exams, Physical,Physical Examinations,Physical Exams
D010865	Pilot Projects	Small-scale tests of methods and procedures to be used on a larger scale if the pilot study demonstrates that these methods and procedures can work.	Pilot Studies,Pilot Study,Pilot Project,Project, Pilot,Projects, Pilot,Studies, Pilot,Study, Pilot
D011307	Drug Prescriptions	Directions written for the obtaining and use of DRUGS.	Drug Prescribing,Drug Prescription,Drug Prescribings,Prescribing, Drug,Prescribings, Drug
D003142	Communication	The exchange or transmission of ideas, attitudes, or beliefs between individuals or groups.	Miscommunication,Misinformation,Social Communication,Communication Programs,Communications Personnel,Personal Communication,Communication Program,Communication, Personal,Communication, Social,Communications, Social,Miscommunications,Misinformations,Personnel, Communications,Program, Communication,Programs, Communication,Social Communications
D004503	Education, Medical, Graduate	Educational programs for medical graduates entering a specialty. They include formal specialty training as well as academic work in the clinical and basic medical sciences, and may lead to board certification or an advanced medical degree.	Medical Education, Graduate,Education, Graduate Medical,Graduate Medical Education
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012449	Safety	Freedom from exposure to danger and protection from the occurrence or risk of injury or loss. It suggests optimal precautions in the workplace, on the street, in the home, etc., and includes personal safety as well as the safety of property.	Safeties