Do teaching, clinical practice and OSCE assessment actually align?
Dewi SP, Wilson A, Duvivier R, Kelly B, Gilligan C. Do the teaching, practice and assessment of clinical communication skills align? BMC Medical Education. 2024;24:609. PMID: 38824578.
View source on PubMed ↗What was studied?
The investigators observed 28 fourth-year medical students in three settings: structured classroom communication sessions, real clinical encounters and an OSCE station. Communication behaviors were evaluated using the Calgary-Cambridge Observational Guides.
What did the study find?
Students demonstrated a broader range of communication skills in classroom teaching. In real clinical encounters, information gathering and relationship building became more prominent, while the time pressure and task focus of the OSCE reduced opportunities for rapport building.
What might this mean for medical educators?
Teaching, practice and assessment environments can shape what students actually demonstrate. Programs should therefore examine whether the behaviors emphasized in teaching are also feasible, reinforced and rewarded in clinical practice and assessment.
What does it not establish?
The study was small and observational. It does not prove that OSCEs are inappropriate or that classroom learning fails to transfer universally; it highlights a potential alignment problem that warrants local examination.