Level of satisfaction and correlation between the performance and self-evaluation of physical therapy students in the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) when using physical agents

Abstract

Introduction: Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is a validated instrument that allows measuring clinical skills in health sciences students; thus, it is important to know the students’ level of satisfaction with this strategy, as well as the correlation between performance and self-evaluation. Objectives: To determine the correlation between the performance and self-evaluation (perceived performance) of Chilean physical therapy students in an OSCE designed to assess their clinical skills when using physical agents, and to assess their level of satisfaction with it. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in 111 physical therapy students who participated in an OSCE consisting of seven stations. Performance checklists were used at each station (passing score: 70% of the maximum score per station) and students were administered 2 perception surveys for self-evaluation purposes and for determining their level of satisfaction with the OSCE. The Spearman Rho test was performed to determine the correlation between station scores and the students’ self-evaluation (significance level of p<0.05). Results: Median scores higher than the passing score were observed in 5 stations (S1=66, IQR: 52-70; S2=55, IQR: 45-60; S3=60, IQR: 50-69; S4=65, IQR: 55-73; S7=40, IQR: 33-45), except for the strengthening and parameter interpretation stations (S5=54, IQR:46-65; S6=10, IQR: 9-13). A positive significant correlation was found between the OSCE scores and the students’ self-evaluation in five stations (S3: p=0.042; S4: p<0.0001; S5: p=0.000; S6: p=0.000; S7: p[removed]