A retrospective feedback analysis of objective structured clinical examination performance of undergraduate medical students.

Introduction: Feedback is an essential component of medical education, enhancing the quality of students' knowledge and skills. However, providing effective feedback, particularly in clinical skills assessments like Objective Structured Clinical Examinations [OSCEs], often poses challenges. This study aimed to evaluate the content of OSCE feedback given to undergraduate medical students over five years.

A systematic review of effective quality feedback measurement tools used in clinical skills assessment.

Background: Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a valid tool to assess the clinical skills of medical students. Feedback after OSCE is essential for student improvement and safe clinical practice. Many examiners do not provide helpful or insightful feedback in the text space provided after OSCE stations, which may adversely affect learning outcomes.

Inter-rater reliability in clinical assessments: do examiner pairings influence candidate ratings?

Background: The reliability of clinical assessments is known to vary considerably with inter-rater reliability a key contributor. Many of the mechanisms that contribute to inter-rater reliability however remain largely unexplained and unclear. While research in other fields suggests personality of raters can impact ratings, studies looking at personality factors in clinical assessments are few.

Effects of Biopsychosocial Education on the Clinical Judgments of Medical Students and GP Trainees Regarding Future Risk of Disability in Chronic Lower Back Pain: A Randomized Control Trial.

Background: Chronic lower back pain (CLBP) is a major health care burden and often results in workplace absenteeism. It is a priority for appropriate management of CLBP to get individuals back to work as early as possible. Interventions informed by the flags approach, which integrates cognitive and behavioral approaches via identification of biopsychosocial barriers to recovery, have resulted in reduced pain-related work absences and increased return to work for individuals with CLBP.

Measuring situation awareness in medical education objective structured clinical examination guides.

Background: Medical errors are among the most prevalent and serious adverse events in health care. Lack of situation awareness (SA) is an important factor leading to such errors. SA can be understood using Endsley's three-tier model: level 1 is perception, level 2 is comprehension, and level 3 is projection.

Situational awareness within objective structured clinical examination stations in undergraduate medical training - a literature search.

Background: Medical students may not be able to identify the essential elements of situational awareness (SA) necessary for clinical reasoning. Recent studies suggest that students have little insight into cognitive processing and SA in clinical scenarios. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) could be used to assess certain elements of situational awareness.

True communication skills assessment in interdepartmental OSCE stations: Standard setting using the MAAS-Global and EduG.

Background: Comparing outcome of clinical skills assessment is challenging. This study proposes reliable and valid comparison of communication skills (1) assessment as practiced in Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (2). The aim of the present study is to compare CS assessment, as standardized according to the MAAS Global, between stations in a single undergraduate medical year.

Effectiveness of a biopsychosocial e-learning intervention on the clinical judgements of medical students and GP trainees regarding future risk of disability in patients with chronic lower back pain: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Chronic lower back pain (CLBP) is a major healthcare problem with wide ranging effects. It is a priority for appropriate management of CLBP to get individuals back to work as early as possible. Interventions that identify biopsychosocial barriers to recovery have been observed to lead to successfully reduced pain-related work absences and increased return to work for individuals with CLBP.

Calibration of communication skills items in OSCE checklists according to the MAAS-Global.

Background: Communication skills (CS) are commonly assessed using 'communication items' in Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) station checklists. Our aim is to calibrate the communication component of OSCE station checklists according to the MAAS-Global which is a valid and reliable standard to assess CS in undergraduate medical education.

Method: Three raters independently compared 280 checklists from 4 disciplines contributing to the undergraduate year 4 OSCE against the 17 items of the MAAS-Global standard.

Reliability and validity of OSCE checklists used to assess the communication skills of undergraduate medical students: A systematic review.

Objectives: To explore inter-rater agreement between reviewers comparing reliability and validity of checklist forms that claim to assess the communication skills of undergraduate medical students in Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs).

Methods: Papers explaining rubrics of OSCE checklist forms were identified from Pubmed, Embase, PsycINFO, and the ProQuest Education Databases up to 2013. Included were those studies that report empirical validity or reliability values for the communication skills assessment checklists used.

Back to the future: An online OSCE Management Information System for nursing OSCEs.

Background: The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an established tool in the repertoire of clinical assessment methods in nurse education. The use of OSCEs facilitates the assessment of psychomotor skills as well as knowledge and attitudes. Identified benefits of OSCE assessment include development of students' confidence in their clinical skills and preparation for clinical practice.

The fairness, predictive validity and acceptability of multiple mini interview in an internationally diverse student population--a mixed methods study.

Background: International medical students, those attending medical school outside of their country of citizenship, account for a growing proportion of medical undergraduates worldwide. This study aimed to establish the fairness, predictive validity and acceptability of Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) in an internationally diverse student population.

Methods: This was an explanatory sequential, mixed methods study.

Comparing the clinical-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an internet-delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention with a waiting list control among adults with chronic pain: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Internet-delivered psychological interventions among people with chronic pain have the potential to overcome environmental and economic barriers to the provision of evidence-based psychological treatment in the Irish health service context. While the use of internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy programmes has been consistently shown to have small-to-moderate effects in the management of chronic pain, there is a paucity in the research regarding the effectiveness of an internet-delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) programme among people with chronic pain. The current study will compare the clinical-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an online ACT intervention with a waitlist control condition in terms of the management of pain-related functional interference among people with chronic pain.

Magnetic resonance myocardial perfusion imaging in the diagnosis of functionally significant obstructive coronary artery disease: a systematic review protocol.

Background: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) myocardial perfusion imaging has been suggested as a non-invasive alternative to pressure wire guided fractional flow reserve (FFR) in detecting haemodynamically significant obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). The objective of this systematic review is to determine the diagnostic accuracy of CMR and to compare it to FFR.

Methods/design: A systematic review of diagnostic test accuracy of CMR and FFR will be conducted.

Interns' attitudes to IV cannulation: a KAP study.

Unlabelled: One of the most common procedures for junior medical doctors is peripheral intravenous cannulation (PIVC). Considering this, an understanding of the peripheral intravenous cannulation procedure is paramount.

Aim: The objective of this study was to identify the level of understanding of interns regarding intravenous cannulation.

How we implemented an integrated professionalism curriculum to 2nd year medical students at the National University of Ireland Galway Medical School, with examples from students' final output.

Since the introduction of professionalism in medical curricula worldwide, little evidence has been published to exemplify good educational practice. The Medical school at the National University of Ireland Galway teaches professionalism in an interdisciplinary manner, integrating the learning objectives of health informatics, understanding health & illness in society, medical law and ethics. Students work in small groups on clinical cases.

A pilot intravenous cannulation team: an Irish perspective.

Peripheral intravenous cannulation (PIVC) is a potentially painful and distressing procedure for patients, and is traditionally carried out by medical personnel. A university hospital in Ireland was chosen to initiate a pilot intravenous (IV) cannulation team, to ascertain whether this procedure could be performed effectively by a team of nurses. The team was introduced to support the implementation of the European working time directive (EWTD).

General practitioners' attitudes and preparedness towards Clinical Decision Support in e-Prescribing (CDS-eP) adoption in the West of Ireland: a cross sectional study.

Background: Electronic clinical decision support (CDS) is increasingly establishing its role in evidence-based clinical practice. Considerable evidence supports its enhancement of efficiency in e-Prescribing, but some controversy remains. This study evaluated the practicality and identified the perceived benefits of, and barriers to, its future adoption in the West of Ireland.

Interobserver reliability of physical examination of shoulder girdle.

The object of this study was to assess interobserver reliability in 23 tests concerning physical examination of the shoulder girdle. A physical therapist and a physical therapist/manual therapist independently performed a physical examination of the shoulder girdle in 91 patients with shoulder complaints of varying severity and duration. The observers assessed 23 items in total: active and passive abductions, passive external rotation, hand in neck (HIN) test, hand in back (HIB) test, impingement test according to Neer, springing test of the first rib and joint play test of the acromioclavicular joint.

Repeated assessment of temporomandibular joint pain: reasoned decision-making with use of unidimensional and multidimensional pain scales.

Background: There are no reports in the literature about patients with painfully restricted temporomandibular joints concerning the reliability of unidimensional and multidimensional pain scales on the basis of a generalizability and decision study. Generalizability and decision studies are designed to aid in reasoned decision-making and therefore are complementary to classic psychometric analyses, in which correlation coefficients express the reliability of a measurement design. The smallest detectable difference as an outcome of the decision study is the smallest statistically significant change that can be detected.