In March, Liverpool School of Medicine returned to Aintree Racecourse for the final round of clinical assessments for our graduating final year students.
Under the expert guidance of the Clinical Skills team, this undertaking involved a remarkable ensemble of over 300 student doctors, 120 simulated patients, 40 support staff, and over 380 clinical examiners, showcasing an operation of truly impressive scale. This event provided an opportunity for students to showcase the skills and competencies they've developed throughout their MBChB programme before their upcoming graduation in the summer.
Drawing clinicians from NHS trust sites and practices across Merseyside and beyond, the assessments were conducted both in-person and via Zoom, with examiners overseeing student interactions with models and simulated patients.
Students arrived at the racecourse, and received a briefing from Director of Clinical Skills, Simulation, Helen Box, and completed assessment circuits in 90-minute slots. Maintaining confidentiality around assessment content, students were provided with notebooks for notes, with all other possessions securely stored before the exams began.
Bee Collier, Director of Assessment and Feedback, commended the hard work of the various teams involved, particularly the Clinical Skills department.
These examination days mark the culmination of extensive work by the station writing team, collaborating with specialty leads and clinicians to meticulously craft stations subjected to multiple trials and revisions. The Clinical Skills teams ensure thorough review of all documentation and equipment lists, while the examiner recruitment process, managed by the PS team, engages local clinical staff to assess future FY1 doctors.
It's a seamless operation - akin to a military campaign, and it underscores the school's commitment to providing students a platform to showcase their clinical and professional competencies requisite of new FY1 doctors.
Despite the inherent stress of examination days, the students demonstrated remarkable resilience from arrival to departure, and many of them were in good spirits at their final examination before becoming practicing clinicians themselves in the Autumn. Several of them stopped for photos with one another before and after the assessments, and the atmosphere on the buses to and from Aintree was one of support and joy rather than trepidation.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the invaluable support of volunteer examiners, who acquaint themselves with stations through individual iPad briefings and huddles led by Clinical Skills team members before the sessions.
Speaking to them on the day, several examiners shared their enthusiasm at being able to assess the next generation of junior doctors:
It’s always an interesting and intellectually stimulating day which I thoroughly enjoy. Thank you to all of those involved in the organisation of the day for making it so seamless in operation and for being such a fun filled rewarding day. It is something that I genuinely look forward to doing.
It was a sentiment shared by other examiners on the day, many of whom were impressed by the level of detail and precision displayed by the team to deliver on such a large-scale project:
We were so well prepared by the team; the marking criteria is very clear with a nice amount of detail. The use of iPads in the briefing was very user friendly & there was always help on hand if we needed any assistance on the exam floor. It was a pleasure helping out examining and it always helps when things are done so well from the OSCE team, so thank you!
Discover more
- Interested in studying medicine? Learn more about the MBChB programme at Liverpool on our Undergraduate Course webpage (link).
- Keen to get involved in our next round of clinical assessments? We welcome healthcare professionals of all levels and specialties to be a part of our examiner team. Head to our Examiner Portal (link) to learn more and sign up for sessions this June and July, when we will be back at Aintree.