Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T20:49:13.578Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Virtual clinical examinations: are they the new ‘normal'?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2021

Mahmoud Barakat*
Affiliation:
Manchester Foundation Trust
Hannah Slevin
Affiliation:
Manchester Foundation Trust
Reshmi Nijjar
Affiliation:
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
Kavitha Ramamurthy
Affiliation:
Manchester Foundation Trust
Latha Hackett
Affiliation:
Health Education England North West
Dushyanthan Mahadevan
Affiliation:
Health Education England North West
*
*corresponding author.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Aims

The North West School of Psychiatry run a yearly structured clinical examination to help Core Psychiatry Trainees develop their training competencies and prepare for the MRCPsych Clinical Assessment of Skills and Competencies (CASC). Historically, this has been face-to-face with logistical difficulties, high cost, low trainee uptake and challenging in recruiting examiners. Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent shift to virtual consultations and examinations, the team implemented an innovative virtual Skills test. The main aims were to improve the test's quality and the trainee uptake, adapt the test delivery to a Health Education England (HEE) online platform, and establish cost-effectiveness in the post-COVID world.

Method

A working group was formed to develop the Skills test, and in May 2019, the test was delivered face-to-face, implementing 5 cycles of 8 stations over 3 days. The same group adapted the test for online delivery, and in August 2020, 3 cycles of 8 stations were delivered. Feedback was collected, with adaptations made for a second Skills Test in December 2020.

Result

96.4% of trainees rated their overall experience and the test organisation in the 2019 test as excellent or good (82.1% and 85.7 excellent, respectively). 93.5% of examiners rated their overall experience and the test organisation as excellent or good (45.1% excellent for both). In the August test, 95.8% of trainees rated their overall experience as excellent or good (58.3% excellent). 100% of trainees rated the test organisation and the online format as excellent or good (70.8% and 50% excellent, respectively). Although 100% of examiners rated the overall experience, the test organisation and online format as excellent or good, some felt the stations were not long enough to allow for technical issues. In the December test, higher proportions of trainees rated the overall experience (80%), organisation of the test (80%) and online format (70%) as excellent.

Conclusion

The virtual test is shown to be a viable and successful alternative to the face-to-face test in preparing trainees for their CASC, and trainees felt it was excellent preparation for the new online CASC format. It had some clear advantages, such as saving on consumables, reducing the financial costs of running the test, improving the test quality, and increasing the trainee uptake. It is more eco-friendly and reduces fuel emission, raising the question of how the test should be delivered after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Type
Education and Training
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.