Changing Student Perception of an Online Integrated Structured Clinical Examination During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sashiananthan Ganesananthan,1 Chunhei Li,1 Anastasia Donnir,1 Anthony Anthony,2 Timothy Woo,1 Agata P Zielinska,3 Ankur Khajuria4,5 1Cardiff University School of Medicine, Cardiff, UK; 2University Hospital Wales, NHS Wales, Cardiff, UK; 3Imperial College London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; 4Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK; 5Kellogg College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKCorrespondence: Ankur KhajuriaDepartment of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UKEmail Ankur.Khajuria09@imperial.ac.ukBackground: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a hiatus in in-person clinical assessments due to safety and logistical concerns. We aimed to evaluate student perception and utility of an online Integrated Structured Clinical Examinations (ISCEs) during the pandemic.Methods: Final-year medical students from a single institution were offered an online mock ISCE through a student-to-student (“near-peer”) teaching-programme. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted pre- and post-online mock ISCE.Results: Sixty-four students completed the study. Pre- and post-data showed an increase in confidence (p< 0.0001), less worry regarding the online format (p< 0.0001) and less anxiety about excelling in ISCEs (p< 0.001). Students felt that having done the mock, an online format would more positively affect their overall performance (p=0.007).Conclusion: This study demonstrates a positive change in student perception and confidence in online ISCEs. Online ISCEs are thus feasible, though sole reliance on this format may provide an incomplete assessment of student’s overall clinical competency.Keywords: clinical assessment, online, student perception, medical education, near-peer, COVID-19