Table 2 Feedback-related focus group interview with students who underwent the objective structured clinical examination on planetary health
What aspects of the feedback from the shadowers were meaningful to you? | |
Aspect | Additional comments |
Accompaniment through all OSCE stations | • Overall impressions of performance, especially of communication skills, are more reliable than impressions of individual OSCE stations • Communication skills improve from OSCE station to OSCE station (“learning by doing”) • Positive feedback increases self-confidence. Confidence in turn, strengthens the intention to address planetary health issues during a consultation • Some feedback was given between stations during the ongoing OSCE |
Supplement to the examiner | • Shadowers’ assessment was mostly based on soft skills (relationship level) including body language and was therefore a good complement to the examiner’s assessment • Feedback was defused by the shadower (hardly critical) • Feedback on communication skills from shadowers was more differentiated than that from the examiners (where to develop?) |
Independent observer | • The shadower may assess the OSCE performance differently from the examiner • Not all aspects of the content of an OSCE topic that the examiner expects the examinee to address may be evident from the situation. Effective communication of key messages as a proportion of the overall performance should therefore be more important than completeness • Feedback was independent of the final mark |
How has the role change from examinee to shadower and vice versa affected your feedback behaviour? | |
Nature of change in feedback behavior | Additional comments |
Feedback remained largely unchanged by the impression of the shadower’s own OSCE | |
Shadowers who have been through the OSCE have increased their understanding of candidates and examiners | • Understanding of incompleteness in favour of effectiveness in communicating key messages • Understanding of uncertain behaviour of candidates • Understanding of the assessment of examiners |