Background

Although medical students' clinical competence should be assessed systematically and objectively, written exams or faculty's subjective methods were used in the past. We assessed the clinical competence of the family medicine clerkship students using the OSCE and evaluated the reliability and the validity of the OSCE. The purpose of this study was to find the logistic problems and the feasibility of the OSCE to an entire clerkship evaluation.

Methods
Twenty six volunteers took part in the OSCE. Ten, 5-minute long stations, were divided into 4 areas: 3 for history taking, 3 for physical exam, 3 for technical skill, and 1 for interview skill areas.

Results
Eleven students were examined on first session and 15 students on second session 4 weeks later. The mean OSCE score was 65.5±5.63. The reliability of the total stations was 0.615. The total OSCE score was not different by the sessions, but there was a significant difference in the two stations where the examiners had been changed. There were statistically significant correlations between the total OSCE score and the two previous written exams (r=0.56, 0.54, P＜0.01). There was no significant logistic problem and the examinees showed positive responses to the OSCE.

Conclusion
The OSCE was a useful tool for assessing the clinical competence of family medicine clerkship students. The reliability of the OSCE was moderate and in order to extend the OSCE to an entire clerkship evaluation, we need further study to acquire a higher reliability and validity.