The Evaluation of Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX) for Assessing Neurology Cases Among Postgraduate Medicine Students

Background Traditional assessments in postgraduate medical training tend to emphasize cognitive skills while often neglecting the psychomotor and affective domains. The mini-clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX) addresses these limitations by evaluating clinical, communication, and humanistic skills with immediate feedback. This study aimed to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of the mini-CEX in assessing neurology cases among postgraduate internal medicine students at a medical college in North India. Methods Between March and July 2024, 10 postgraduate medicine students and 14 faculty members participated in the study. Each student completed at least four mini-CEX sessions, during which performance across seven core skills was rated using a nine-point scale. Immediate feedback was provided by faculty following each session. Both student and faculty feedback were collected to assess the acceptability and feasibility of the mini-CEX. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate these factors, while paired t-tests were applied to measure improvements in student performance. Results A total of 63 mini-CEX sessions were conducted, with an average observation time of 18.77 minutes and an average feedback time of 10.08 minutes. Significant improvements in clinical skills were observed among second-year (P = 0.04) and third-year (P = 0.01) residents, with second-year residents also showing gains in humanistic skills (P = 0.03). Student feedback was largely positive, with nine out of 10 (90%) participants expressing satisfaction and eight out of 10 (80%) recommending the continued use of the tool. Faculty feedback indicated that 10 of 14 (71.4%) supported its continued use and eight of 14 (57%) found it better than traditional assessment methods. Conclusions The mini-CEX is a feasible and acceptable formative assessment tool for neurology cases, effectively enhancing clinical and communication skills. Despite concerns regarding subjectivity, the mini-CEX shows promise for wider implementation in postgraduate, and potentially undergraduate, medical training.