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Revista de la Facultad de Medicina
Print version ISSN 0120-0011
Abstract
BARRA-ORTIZ, Hernán Andrés de la; GOMEZ-MIRANDA, Luis Adrián and FUENTE-ASTROZA, Juan Ignacio de la. Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) to assess the clinical skills of physical therapy students when using physical agents. rev.fac.med. [online]. 2021, vol.69, n.3, e207. Epub Jan 14, 2022. ISSN 0120-0011. https://doi.org/10.15446/revfacmed.v69n3.83545.
Introduction:
The use of physical agents in physical therapy (PT) requires clinical reasoning, as well as knowledge of their risks and contraindications; however, deficiencies may be observed when used in clinical practice.
Objective:
To implement the Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE) method for the assessment of clinical skills among physical therapy specialty students when using physical agents.
Materials and methods:
A pilot, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was conducted in 114 physical therapy students enrolled during the first semester of 2019 in a physical agents course offered at the Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile. The OSCE consisted of 7 peer-validated stations, in which various skills were implemented in simulated clinical scenarios to achieve learning outcomes associated with the use of physical agents, namely: S1: connective tissue flexibility; S2: muscle relaxation; S3: analgesia; S4: drainage; S5: muscle strengthening; S6: parameter interpretation; and S7: equipment installation. Observers at each station assessed students' clinical skills and decision-making using a checklist. OSCE scores were described using medians and interquartile ranges, representing the data dispersion between the 25th and 75th percentile (P25-P75). Station scores by sex were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test.
Results:
Median scores were higher than the minimum passing score in stations S1 (66, IQR: 52-70), S2 (55, IQR: 45-60), S3 (60, IQR: 50-69), S4 (65, IQR: 55-73), and S7 (40, IQR: 33-45), but they were below the passing score in stations S5 (54, IQR:46-65) and S6 (10, IQR: 9-13). In addition, 101 (88.59%) students had a global passing score in the OSCE.
Conclusion:
The OSCE scores obtained by the participants show their attainment of clinical skills when using physical agents since most of them obtained a global passing score; however, reinforcing the clinical skills for parameter interpretation is necessary, considering that the lowest mean score was obtained in said station.
Keywords : Physical Therapy Modalities; Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine; Learning; Student Health Services (MeSH).
