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Student and examiner feedback was gathered on clarity, fairness, anxiety, and demonstrated clinical skills. 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Examiners also reported OSCEs as feasible, sustainable, and more objective for clinical competence assessment.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},317265,1790211408,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,120,123,127],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":124,"slug":126},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":128,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":130},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":132},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":133,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":112,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":107,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},2336474466712,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","Review began 12/23/2025  \nReview ended 01/29/2026  \nPublished 02/03/2026  \n© Copyright 2026  \nG et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY 4.0. , which permits unrestricted use , distribution , and reproduction in any medium , provided the original author and source are credited.  \nDOI: 10.7759/cureus.102867  \nOpen Access Original Article  \nA Comparative Analysis of Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) and Traditional Written Exams in Medical Education for Assessing Clinical Competence  \nPurushotham G 1, G.S.R. Hareesh 1, Lakshmi M. Jasti 1, Haasa Chandrika 1  \n1. Department of General Surgery, Government Medical College, Ongole, IND Corresponding author: G.S.R. Hareesh, [gsrhareesh@gmail.com](gsrhareesh@gmail.com)  \nAbstract  \nObjective  \nThis study aimed to compare the effectiveness of traditional written examinations and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) in assessing clinical competence among medical students. Additionally, it sought to explore the practical challenges and opportunities of integrating OSCEs into undergraduate curricula, evaluate the validity and reliability of both assessment methods, and propose a standardized framework to support consistent and objective evaluation.  \nMethodology  \nA total of 120 phase III part II Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups. Group A was assessed using traditional long-case written examinations, while group B underwent OSCEs. Feedback from students and examiners was collected using a pre-designed questionnaire evaluating clarity, fairness, anxiety levels, and the ability to demonstrate clinical skills effectively.  \nResults  \nThe mean total score in group A was 62.02 ± 5.82, whereas group B achieved a significantly higher meanscore of 75 .63 ± 5.28 (p=0 .0001), indicating superior performance in the OSCE group. Examiners reported that the OSCE was feasible and sustainable, and that it provided a more objective assessment of clinical competence.  \nConclusions  \nThe OSCE meets nearly all criteria for an ideal clinical competency assessment. Its structured, objective, and reliable design makes it highly suitable for evaluating clinical skills. Given its demonstrated effectiveness and practicality, the OSCE can be adopted as a standard evaluation method across diverse clinical disciplines.  \nCategories: Medical Education  \nKeywords: comparitive study, government college india, long-case written assessment, osce, traditional clinical case examination  \nIntroduction  \nAssessing clinical competency is a cornerstone of medical education, ensuring that future physicians possess the necessary skills and can apply them effectively in real-world clinical settings [1,2] . Evaluating the ability of medical students to translate theoretical knowledge into clinical practice has become a central focus of educational reform, particularly in an era emphasizing patient safety, communication, and  \nprofessionalism [3] . The choice of assessment method is therefore critical, as evaluation profoundly  \ninfluences learning behavior and plays a key role in shaping skilled, confident, and compassionate  \npractitioners [4] .  \nHistorically, medical schools have relied on oral examinations, long and short case presentations, and conventional written tests to assess clinical competence [5] . Although these methods assess theoretical  \nknowledge and specific reasoning skills, they often lack objectivity and standardization, leading to considerable variability in examiner judgment and differences in case complexity [6] . Moreover, traditional assessments primarily address the lower levels of Miller 's Pyramid-\"know \" and \"know how \"-providing limited insight into higher levels such as \"show how \" and \"do \", which reflect actual clinical performance [7] .  \nHow to cite this article  \nG , Hareesh , Jasti L M , et al. (February 03 , 2026) A","cbCaissquCIDjCHw","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaissquCIDjCHw","pdf",149054,"English","# Abstract\n## Objective\n## Methodology\n## Results\n## Conclusions\n# Introduction\n## Background and limitations of traditional assessments\n## Rationale for OSCEs","[{\"question\":\"What is the study’s primary objective?\",\"answer\":\"To compare the effectiveness of traditional written examinations and OSCEs in assessing clinical competence among medical students, and to examine challenges and opportunities for integrating OSCEs into undergraduate curricula.\"},{\"question\":\"How were students assigned to the two assessment methods?\",\"answer\":\"A total of 120 MBBS students (phase III part II) were enrolled and randomly divided into two groups: Group A used traditional long-case written examinations, and Group B underwent OSCEs.\"},{\"question\":\"What were the key results comparing OSCEs and traditional written exams?\",\"answer\":\"The OSCE group achieved a significantly higher mean total score (75.63 ± 5.28) than the long-case written group (62.02 ± 5.82, p=0.0001). Examiners also reported OSCEs as feasible, sustainable, and more objective for clinical competence assessment.\"}]","A Comparative Analysis of Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) and Traditional Written Exams in Medical Education for Assessing Clinical Competence | PDF",1789930959,18]