Terry R1, Hing W1, Orr R1, Milne N1
1Bond University, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Gold Coast, Australia
Background: It is becoming increasingly difficult to source good quality clinical placement opportunities for students. A proliferation of new programs, increasing student numbers and changes in health sector staffing all present challenges to education providers working to source and retain partnerships with clinical colleagues. Clinicians are relied upon to offer clinical placements to education providers. Students who attend clinical placement but fail to achieve an adequate standard of performance not only require remediation and additional clinical placements to be sourced, but also add to clinical educator stress. The ability to identify students likely to require additional support throughout the placement, or who may be at risk of failure could give education providers opportunity to pre-emptively put in place enhancement and support strategies for both student and clinical educator. It is often assumed that pre-clinical assessment scores are indicators of students' future performance in clinical placement, especially when these scores are used as gate-keepers to students' progression to clinical placement. However, there is little evidence within the physiotherapy profession to support this assumption.
Purpose: To determine the relationships between summative assessment scores achieved by students in their pre-clinical coursework and their future performance in clinical practice.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of students from four consecutive intakes of a graduate-entry physiotherapy program. Assessment data including raw Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE), written assessment and seminar presentation scores for pre-clinical and clinical practice subjects in the core clinical areas of orthopaedic, musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory and neurological physiotherapy were retrieved. Performance in clinical practice was assessed using the Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice instrument. Mean scores for each assessment type were calculated. Pearson's correlations were calculated between the mean pre-clinical assessment scores and clinical performance scores. Multiple regression was performed to determine the effect of each independent assessment on clinical performance scores. Ethical approval was received from the Bond University Human Research Ethics Committee (RO1733).
Results: Assessment data from 118 students were included in the analysis. All pre-clinical assessment scores were significantly correlated with clinical performance: OSCE r=0.51, p 0.001; written examination r=0.38, p 0.001; and seminar presentation r=0.29, p=0.002. In a linear regression model containing the three pre-clinical assessments (adjusted R2=0.30) there were significant independent contributions from OSCEs (β=0.42. p 0.001) and seminar presentations (β=0.21, p=0.01).
Conclusion(s): OSCE scores have a strong relationship with students' future clinical performance. Written assessments and seminar presentations also demonstrated significant relationships.
Implications: Early identification of students at risk provides an opportunity for intervention and enhancement before students commence clinical placement. The strong relationship between students pre-clinical OSCE scores and their clinical performance suggests that these scores could be a valid measure to highlight students that may benefit from targeted pre-emptive enhancement strategies, and early implementation of support during placement. Such interventions would aim to improve the clinical placement experience for both student and educator, minimise the need for additional clinical placement time, and to protect and preserve crucial relationships with clinical educators and their colleagues.
Keywords: OSCE, assessment, clinical practice
Funding acknowledgements: This work was unfunded.
Purpose: To determine the relationships between summative assessment scores achieved by students in their pre-clinical coursework and their future performance in clinical practice.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of students from four consecutive intakes of a graduate-entry physiotherapy program. Assessment data including raw Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE), written assessment and seminar presentation scores for pre-clinical and clinical practice subjects in the core clinical areas of orthopaedic, musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory and neurological physiotherapy were retrieved. Performance in clinical practice was assessed using the Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice instrument. Mean scores for each assessment type were calculated. Pearson's correlations were calculated between the mean pre-clinical assessment scores and clinical performance scores. Multiple regression was performed to determine the effect of each independent assessment on clinical performance scores. Ethical approval was received from the Bond University Human Research Ethics Committee (RO1733).
Results: Assessment data from 118 students were included in the analysis. All pre-clinical assessment scores were significantly correlated with clinical performance: OSCE r=0.51, p 0.001; written examination r=0.38, p 0.001; and seminar presentation r=0.29, p=0.002. In a linear regression model containing the three pre-clinical assessments (adjusted R2=0.30) there were significant independent contributions from OSCEs (β=0.42. p 0.001) and seminar presentations (β=0.21, p=0.01).
Conclusion(s): OSCE scores have a strong relationship with students' future clinical performance. Written assessments and seminar presentations also demonstrated significant relationships.
Implications: Early identification of students at risk provides an opportunity for intervention and enhancement before students commence clinical placement. The strong relationship between students pre-clinical OSCE scores and their clinical performance suggests that these scores could be a valid measure to highlight students that may benefit from targeted pre-emptive enhancement strategies, and early implementation of support during placement. Such interventions would aim to improve the clinical placement experience for both student and educator, minimise the need for additional clinical placement time, and to protect and preserve crucial relationships with clinical educators and their colleagues.
Keywords: OSCE, assessment, clinical practice
Funding acknowledgements: This work was unfunded.
Topic: Education
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: Bond University
Ethics committee: Bond University Human Research Ethics Committee
Ethics number: RO1733
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
