Structures, processes and outcomes of objective structured clinical examinations in dental education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A scoping review

Abstract

Introduction: Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are an essential examination tool within undergraduate dental education. Fear of spread of the COVID-19 virus led to dental institutions exploring alternative means of conducting OSCEs. The aim of this scoping review was to investigate what structures, processes and outcomes of dental OSCEs were reported during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and methods: This scoping review was conducted and reported adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses extension for scoping review guidelines (PRISMA-ScR). Published literature was identified through a systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Education Resources Information Center (Eric), ProQuest and Google Scholar. Identified articles were independently reviewed by two authors (KS, AD), followed by synthesis in terms of the reported structures, processes and outcomes. Articles reporting cancellation or rescheduling were also included, extracting data on reasons and any suggestions/recommendations.

Results: The search yielded a total of 290 studies of which 239 sources were excluded after removal of duplicates, leaving 51 studies for title and abstract evaluation. Thirty-four articles were excluded as they did not report on the topic of interest, leaving 17 for full-text evaluation, of which nine were analysed according to the pre-set themes. All dental OSCEs taking place (n = 6) were conducted online whilst the remaining (n = 3) were either cancelled or rescheduled. Data on structures reported specific online videoconferencing software used and provision of staff and student training. Processes on the execution of online OSCEs varied significantly from one study to the other, providing rich data on how dental institutions may carry out such assessments tailored to their need. Information regarding outcomes was sparse, as little attention was paid to the results of the students compared to pre-pandemic, lacking investigation into reliability and validity of online dental OSCEs.

Conclusion: Dental OSCEs could be conducted online implementing well-planned structures and processes; however, further evidence is needed to prove its reliability and validity based on outcomes. Dental institutions may need to consider alternative methods to assess practical competencies if online OSCEs are to take place.

Keywords: COVID-19; dental; education; objective structured clinical examination; scoping review.