Continuous Assessment through Objective Structured Clinical Examinations in Veterinary Clinical Propaedeutics

This study aimed to evaluate the attitude of veterinary students to the use of Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) as a method for continuous assessment of the acquisition of clinical skills related to the physical examination of animals. Students undertook fortnightly two OSCEs throughout a semester, after which an anonymous electronic survey was distributed before the final written exam. The results of the questionnaire indicated that students display a good attitude to being assessed frequently by OSCEs; furthermore, it also helped them not only to study and practice more regularly, but as they were told in advance what they would be assessed on, it also helped them to be more focused during teaching time. Furthermore, they encouraged the maintenance of the assessment method for the following year and also provided some suggestions for improvement. It is therefore concluded that students display a positive attitude to continuous assessment by OSCE, which has an impact not only on the students’ learning behavior, but also on the use of teaching hours. Furthermore, students are also delighted to give on the assessment methodology, providing sometimes an insight that could have gone unnoticed by the faculty, and hence their opinion should be requested