Objective structured practical examination in undergraduate pathology course ─ A trial study in a teaching medical college in Western Uttar Pradesh

Introduction: Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) is a widely accepted tool to evaluate the practical skills of the medical students. Objectively Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) is gaining wide appreciation and acceptance in practical examination in Basic and Para ─clinical medical subjects. OSPE has been proposed in Pathology for undergraduate medical students. Aims and Objectives: The present study was undertaken to determine the student perception and satisfaction regarding OSPE as a method of assessment of laboratory exercise in pathology. Materials and Method: The present study was carried out among M.B.B.S. students at a teaching medical college in Western Uttar Pradesh. A total of 126 students during their second year of MBBS course participated in the study. They went through the OSPE based practical examination and then a close ended questionnaire was distributed to assess student's perception regarding the OSPE based examination. Results: According to our study, OSPE was seen as a positive and useful practical experience by 66.67% of the students. Feedback from the students suggested that 83.33% students felt that OSPE was an objective tool in evaluating practical skills. Only 11.9% students perceived it as a stressful experience. Conclusion: OSPE proved to be an efficient, acceptable and useful assessment tool for evaluating practical skills of the students. Such a promising feedback opens the ways for newer innovative modifications in the conventional teaching and evaluating medical education systems. The aim is to groom the medical education system into a more objective and student friendly system.