Comparison of Mini CEX with OSCE in Assessing the LearningOutcomesoftheInternsintheGeneralSurgery

Background and Objectives-Clinical education is an integral component of medical internship.Assessment in medical education for evaluation of knowledge, skills and attitude is done in an organised systematic manner.To test the validity and reliability in assessing the clinical competence of trainees of OSCE and MiniCex.Methods-It was a case-control study based on the domestic and international mini-CEX assessment scale, the modified mini-CEX feedback scale for the assessment of Interns in surgical specialty was established by experts in General Surgery at Tirunelveli Medical College.Sample size is 41 for cases and 41 for controls as per Openepi.Cases are those participants who are to be assessed by mini-CEX and controls are those who are to be assessed by OSCE method.Results-the pretest scores were low for both the groups.It took around 15 -20 minutes to complete each assessment.There was a difference in the pretest and post test scores in both mini CEX and OSCE groups.There was a significant difference of posttest mean between the two groups.The mean score of OSCE ranged from 6-8 for a total of 10 marks in each competency.Regarding the Mini CEX group, it took about 10 -12 minutes to complete each mini CEX encounters.The scores in history taking skills, clinical judgement skill and clinical efficiency in managing paramedical staff ranged from 4-6 during mini CEX encounters.There was a significant difference in the posttest score (M=19.1,SD=2.6) compared to pre test scores (M=14.4,SD=3.1), t (40) = -35.1,p<.000 in the OSCE group.This indicates that the learning has occurred in the OSCE group.Conclusion-We found that the assessment of interns using mini CEX is feasible and found that mini CEX is more effective than OSCE as assessment for learning.