Objective Structured Practical Examination: our experience in Pharmacology at Goa Medical College, Bambolim-Goa, India

Background:  Practical examination is an important component of evaluation in the medical curriculum. OSPE (objective structured practical examination) pattern has structured questions with marks for each point and all the objectives of teaching-learning can be tested and assigned the desired weightage. Methods:  The evaluation was done for 146 II MBBS students in Pharmacology. Every student had to spend two minutes each for dosage form (DF) and drug advice (DA) at their respective stations. All the students had to attempt same questions to avoid bias of evaluation. Checklist was provided to the faculty who functioned as observers. Results:  All the students believed that OSPE tests practical skills. Most of the students rated OSPE as better than traditional viva or table work. Almost half the students were satisfied with the present setup. Since it tests practical skills better, all the faculty were in favour of conducting the entire practicals in OSPE setup. 50% of faculty proposed need of incorporating injection technique on dummies which will help the students to learn injection techniques well. Conclusions:  It is often difficult to measure practical knowledge and applications by written practical examinations.  In such situation OSPE can be structured and standardized to evaluate the clinical applications.