Improvement of psychometric properties of the objective structured clinical examination when assessing problem solving skills of surgical clerkship.

Objective: To improve the psychometric properties of the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and elevate staff motivation.

Methods: The OSCE was conducted in May 2006 at the Department of Surgery, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as a pilot study for 95 students split over 2 consecutive days lasting 120 minutes each day. There were 15 actual stations on each day consisting of 10 stations that addressed problem solving skills, and 5 addressed clinical skills testing.