Group OSCE (GOSCE) as a formative clinical assessment tool for pre-clerkship medical students at the University of Sharjah

Objectives: Continuous formative assessment with appropriate feedback is the pillar of effective clinical teaching and learning. Group Objective Structured Clinical Examination (GOSCE) has been reported as a resource-effective method of formative assessment. The present study aims to describe the development and evaluation of GOSCE as a formative assessment for pre-clerkship medical students. Methods: At the University of Sharjah, GOSCE was introduced to medical students in Years 1, 2, and 3. The GOSCE was conducted as a formative assessment in which groups of 4-5 students were observed while they performed various clinical skills, followed by structured feedback from clinical tutors and peers. GOSCE was evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively and appropriate statistical analysis was applied to evaluate their responses. Results: A total of 232 students who attended the GOSCE responded to the questionnaires. Most of the students and clinical tutors preferred formative GOSCE over individual feedback. Both students and clinical tutors valued the experience as it helped students to identify gaps and to share knowledge and skills among group members. Conclusion: This study found that formative GOSCE provided a valuable and feasible educational opportunity for students to receive feedback about their clinical skills.