Dentistry OSCEs

By Hannah Brown in Dentistry on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 @ 11:52

Methods of examination in clinical subjects have changed over the years.  The traditional essay writing and viva examinations have been superseded in some centres by short answer questions and practical examinations.  Objective structured clinical examinations or OSCEs, as they are more commonly known are becoming more popular.  They provide a means of testing a wide variety of practical skills and knowledge in a standardised and structured manner.  The use of clinical models has also enabled certain clinical skills to be examined without the need for patients.  However, some stations do require the use of patients (both actual and actors), in particular assessment of communication skills, information providing and consent.

PasTest Online for dentistry and our range of PasTest dental books help students preparing to sit OSCEs in dentistry at undergraduate dental student level and postrgraduate level, with candidates sitting the MJDF and ORE exams amongst others.  Our revision includes a variety of OSCE stations and lists the things that the examiners will expect to see you carry out in order to pass the station.  They show that a correct diagnosis without the preceding steps does not always lead to a satisfactory score, and marks are awarded for things such as an introduction and empathy.  They are not meant as textbook type resources to teach you how to perform various clinical skills, but rather to provide frameworks around which most answers/tasks can be performed.