When the Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) were unable to take place as planned earlier in 2020, the questions on everybody's mind was when, where and how to offer a safe alternative for our student doctors.
As a key part of final exams, it was vital to find a way for the OSCE assessments to go ahead, and most of all, to go ahead safely. That meant transforming what is usually a carefully orchestrated multi-day event - so large the School usually takes over Aintree Racecourse - into something that could work just as well in Cedar House, with the right safety measures in place.
Thanks to the commitment, resilience and creativity of students and staff alike, on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November the first sequence of the assessments went ahead on campus. A feat achieved by the whole School pulling together, says Bee Collier, Director of Assessment & Feedback, and with crucial support from the Faculty and Institute.
"In practice, how we worked was to hold daily meetings with the Clinical Skills team and work through the organisational points one by one. Everything was in the details. If you think about something really practical, like organising toilet breaks, that’s the kind of planning that went into it."
There were technical requirements and safety equipment to consider. Purpose-built 6-foot Perspex screens added an extra level of protection, and not for the first time in 2020, technology stepped in to support what was needed where face-to-face interaction wasn’t possible. The team were able to set up the clinical stations, 27 of them in total, so that all of the clinical simulations could be run online seamlessly, and without negatively impacting the student experience.
Bee is extremely proud of how students adapted to the changes and how they worked together with examiners and staff to adhere to safety measures and help keep each other safe. "I can't thank everyone enough." It was clearly the most spectacular team effort and one that Bee is rightly very proud of,
The moment that got me was seeing everyone there in their PPE ready to go. To look around and think, we did it, we pulled it off.
Reflections from the exams
Zoe Blundell is part of the University’s Digital Education Support team and provided technical support on the assessment floor, which she says was a brilliant insight into technology available at the University, “I have been very impressed with the creativity and innovation on show. Everyone has made the most of digital tools available such as Microsoft Teams to ensure everything runs smoothly.” See her in action on Twitter.
Cathy Carr, Deputy Director of Clinical Skills and OSCE Lead reflects on what was most important, "We worked to make sure everyone was comfortable taking part. I myself felt so safe on the day and the responses we've had have been positive from both students and examiners."
Declan Hyland, Deputy Clinical Director for Year 4, was there as an Examiner and Tweeted how impressed he was with the level of organisation, “It is so pleasing to see how the Clinical Skills Team have managed to run these assessments successfully in a time when so many exams are being cancelled or delayed because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic."
Matthew Ryan was one of the students sitting the examinations and admitted to being a little apprehensive beforehand, “I wondered how it was going to work online, how we’d handle any technical issues, how we’d be able to build rapport and pick up on non-verbal cues, things like that.” But once he’d completed his first station he found himself relax and get into the swing of things,
It just felt like a normal OSCE.
Which, all things considered is the highest praise really. And in some ways, Matthew might have actually preferred things this way, “Usually you get the bus out to Aintree and that can be quite a tense journey as you start to wonder about how the day will go, rumours start going around about what might be covered,” laughs Matthew, “But this way it was just on to campus and straight into it. The Clinical Skills team are always so friendly and it was nice and reassuring to see a few friendly faces on the day.”
Hollie Swann, Head of Operations at the Institute of Life Course & Medical Sciences, also took to Twitter to share her congratulations to the School. "Staff worked incredibly hard to run the OSCEs on campus in a COVID-19 secure environment. Every part of the exam had been carefully considered. I really enjoyed the day, particularly seeing students safely back on campus."
And the chance to be back on campus and interact with students and colleagues was something Jennie Jebb, Admissions Team Lead, really enjoyed as a volunteer on the day. "It was my first time back at Cedar House since March so I didn't really know what to expect. It all felt so safe, so calm. It was lovely to see everyone after such a long time."
Dr Jamie Fanning recalls his own clinical examination experience when he was a student at the School, “The word OSCE still sends a shiver down my spine, but fortunately the nerves are now due to the sheer scale of the examinations, with nearly double the number of students compared to when I was a student.”
Over at the Clinical Skills Teaching & Learning Centre, where he is now Clinical Examination and Procedural Skills Theme Lead, it has been ‘business as usual’ with staff working to continue to provide this essential service to students. Jamie is proud of the spirit in which he and his colleagues have worked to make this happen,
It is this coming together of the whole School, working together with smiles on our faces during such a time that has really made this a special achievement, and for me it has been extra-special getting to do it alongside some of my former teachers.
No-one was prouder than Professor Hazel Scott who Tweeted her congratulations on a fantastic team effort, "The whole School & our supportive friends from across the University & the NHS region, uniting around the essential training of our superb student doctors."