www.ijbcp.com International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology | September-October 2013 | Vol 2 | Issue 5 Page 629 IJBCP International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology Print ISSN: 2319-2003 | Online ISSN: 2279-0780 Research Article A review of objective structured practical examination (OSPE) in pharmacology at a rural medical college Rushikesh P. Deshpande*, Vijay M. Motghare, Sudhir L. Padwal, Chetanraj G. Bhamare, Suvarna S. Rathod, Rakesh R. Pore INTRODUCTION The objectively structured practical examination (OSPE), a reliable and established practical examination system, is being increasingly used in many medical colleges in India along with other developing countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. 1-3 OSPE is an instrument to assess the components in practical skills such as simple procedures, interpretation of lab results, communication, attitude etc. These are tested using agreed check lists and rotating the student round a number of stations some which have observers with check lists. The advantage of OSPE includes objectivity and uniformity in questions and marking of students. 4,5 Evaluation is a systematic process that consists of finding out the extent to which educational objectives have been achieved by students. 6,7 No examination pattern currently available which can fulfil all the criteria for assessment of students on the basis of their knowledge, comprehension, skills. 8 Also, there is a failure to evaluate students perspectives and feedback about traditional examination methods which are being practiced since decades. The term OSPE is derived from Objectively Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in 1975 which was later modified to practical examination by Harden and Gleeson. 9 In an International Conference held in Ottawa in 1985, OSPE and OSCE techniques were introduced as a teaching and evaluation tool and its advantages were compared with disadvantages. 10 Being an objective parameter rather than subjective, OSPE pattern holds transparency in proper assessment of students. 11 ABSTRACT Background: 1. To evaluate the attitudes of undergraduate medical students towards objectively structured practical examination (OSPE) component of Pharmacology practical examination. 2. To investigate any gender differences and any influence of medium of instruction in school on these attitudes. Methods: The scores of 40 undergraduate medical students were analysed at S R T R Government Medical College, Ambajogai, Maharashtra, India. A Likert scale containing 9 items was used to assess the attitudes of students towards OSPE in Pharmacology. Student perspectives regarding the OSPE were obtained by asking them to respond to a questionnaire. Results: The study revealed that the OSPE was an acceptable tool in Pharmacology practical examination. The overall mean attitude score was 3.99. The response of male students towards OSPE (4.2) was more favourable as compared to that of female students (3.9) Students strongly agreed that OPSE covers wide range of skills and it is a good form of examination and learning experience. Majority of students were in favour of continuing OSPE as a method for examination in Pharmacology. Conclusions: OSPE was found to be a valuable tool to check the depth of understanding of undergraduate students. OSPE can be used as an index of the learning attitude of students. The present study is a small step in a direction of changing the traditional patterns of practical examination to a more objective and reliable way of evaluation in Pharmacology. It will help in modifying teaching-learning strategies so that both, the teachers as well as the students can gain maximum advantage. Keywords: Evaluation, OSPE, Pharmacology, Practical, Undergraduates doi: 10.5455/2319-2003.ijbcp20131021 Department of Pharmacology, Swami Ramanand Teerth Rural Government Medical College, Ambajogai, Dist. Beed, Maharashtra-431517, India Received: 31 July 2013 Accepted: 7 September 2013 *Correspondence to: Dr. Rushikesh P. Deshpande, Email: drrushikesh@gmail.com © 2013 Deshpande RP et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.