FOCUS ON HEALTH PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION - A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY JOURNAL VOL. 18 - NO. 2 - USING OSCES IN PSYCHOLOGY - 2017

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Cipher

A pilot study evaluates how objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) using simulation influence learning and competency demonstration for psychology trainees. Limited prior research exists on OSCEs in psychology, so the study extends evidence by focusing OSCEs on motivational interviewing. Mixed methods gather quantitative and qualitative data from 14 professional psychology students in a health psychology course. Results indicate OSCEs can be feasible, reliable and valid for complex interventional skill assessment, and future work should optimize feedback provision.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Keywords

Correspondence

FOCUS ON HEALTH PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION: A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY JOURNAL VOL. 18, NO. 2, 2017 Using OSCEs with simulation to maximise student learning and assess competencies in psychology: A pilot study R. Roberts, A. Chur-Hansen, H. Winefield, S. Patten, H. Ward & D. Dorstyn Abstract Introduction: There is limited research on the use of objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) in psychology despite their extensive use in medicine. This pilot study extended the evidence base by assessing the impact on student learning of OSCEs focused on motivational interviewing. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used with quantitative and qualitative data analysed. Data were collated from all 14 professional psychology students enrolled in a health psychology course. Results: Findings suggest that OSCEs are a feasible, reliable and valid method for professional psychology trainees to demonstrate competencies in complex, interventional skills. Conclusions: Implications for incorporating OSCEs into professional psychology training are described. Future work addressing issues including optimal approaches to provision of feedback for learning is needed. Keywords: OSCE; objective structured clinical examinations; simulation; competency; training; psychology. University of Adelaide, Australia Correspondence Rachel Roberts School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences University of Adelaide Adelaide, South Australia 5005 Australia Tel: +61 8 8313 5228 Email: [rachel.roberts@adelaide.edu.au](rachel.roberts@adelaide.edu.au) 61 ISSN 1442-1100 FOCUS ON HEALTH PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION: A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY JOURNAL VOL. 18, NO. 2, 2017 USING OSCES IN PSYCHOLOGY Introduction Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) and simulation have been used to assess competencies in medicine, nursing and dentistry for many years, and they have been demonstrated to be authentic, reliable and valid ways to assess competencies (Newble, 2004). Calls are only just being made in the UK for OSCEs (using role plays with actors) to be introduced into professional psychology training programmes to assess clinical competencies (McManus & Bennett, 2015) . Similarly, in the US, the use of simulated patients in training has been advocated, with Gillaspy, Litzenburg, Leffingwell and Miller (2015) suggesting that motivational interviewing (MI) providesan excellent opportunity for students to develop and demonstrate a range of core competencies required in psychology training, including professionalism, interpersonal skills and application of evidence-based practice. MI is a person-centred style of counselling that focuses on change and is designed to strengthen motivation and commitment to a goal (Miller & Rollnick, 2012) . MI is useful when there is ambivalence to lifestyle change, a common experience in relation to motivation among patients with chronic health conditions and health-related behaviours, such as diet, exercise and substance use (see www.motivationalinterviewing. org for a range of relevant resources) . MI has strong evidence underpinning its effectiveness in the areas focused on in the current study, including alcohol use (Joseph & Basu, 2016), management of type 2 diabetes (Ekong & Kavookjian, 2015) and weight loss (Barnes & Ivezaj, 2015) . However, to date, we are not aware of reports of the use of MI-based OSCEs to assess clinical competencies in psychology training. The use of OSCEs to assess other clinical competencies, such as suicide risk assessment training, is in its initial stages, with Cramer, Johnson, McLaughlin, Rausch and Conroy (2013) developing a risk assessment framework that includes OSCEs for psychology professional training programmes. OSCEs have only very recently been piloted in professional postgraduate psychology training programmes within Australia, with both pilot projects reporting that OSCEs were well received by both staff and students (Sheen, McGillvray, Bur

FAQs

What gap in research does the pilot study address?

It addresses the limited evidence on using OSCEs in psychology and specifically evaluates OSCEs focused on motivational interviewing for assessing clinical competencies.

How were OSCEs implemented for the study?

OSCEs were used with simulation and a motivational interviewing focus to assess complex interventional skills for psychology trainees.

What do the results suggest about OSCEs in psychology training?

The findings suggest OSCEs are feasible, reliable and valid for trainees to demonstrate competencies in complex, interventional skills.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Cipher