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Can I Phone a Friend? Exploring the Use of Digital Devices in Clinical Exams

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Title: Can I Phone a Friend? Exploring the Use of Digital Devices in Clinical Exams
Authors: Hannah Gillespie, Helen Reid, Kathy Cullen
Source: Clin Teach
Gillespie, H, Reid, H & Cullen, K 2025, 'Can I phone a friend? Exploring the use of digital devices in clinical exams', Clinical Teacher, vol. 22, no. 1, e70007. https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.70007
Publisher Information: Wiley, 2024.
Publication Year: 2024
Subject Terms: Objective Structured Clinical Examinations, Students, Medical, assessment, Educational Measurement/methods, name=Review and Exam Preparation, 02 engineering and technology, Focus Groups, United Kingdom, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, 0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering, Humans, Clinical Competence, Educational Measurement, medical education, Cell Phone, Research Article, Education, Medical, Undergraduate
Description: BackgroundObjective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are used globally to assess health professional learners' clinical skills and applied knowledge. Despite innovations with simulated participants, manikin technology and real patient involvement, there remains a gap between ‘real‐life’ practice and ‘OSCE experience’. For example, although mobile phone use is increasingly common in clinical practice; however, it would represent a significant disruption to established assessment practices in OSCEs. We aimed to explore student use of mobile phones during OSCE assessment, with a focus on exam security, equity and relevance to practice.MethodsCultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) allows us to conceptualise and analyse complex systems such as those of OSCE assessment. We recruited a range of stakeholders in a UK medical school setting to participate in focus group interviews exploring our stated aim. Transcripts were analysed using CHAT as a theoretical lens to construct an activity system of assessment and identify emerging tensions around the use of a potentially disruptive technology: students' own mobile phones.FindingsSeven examiners, 13 medical students, and two simulated participants participated in three focus groups. Three sources of tension were identified: between the tools of assessment and practice, of exam security and exam relevance, and of medical students as people and professionals.Discussion and ConclusionThis study exemplifies how a seemingly small disruption in a complex system (introducing a mobile phone—a tool used in everyday practice) can help us understand and describe the unwritten rules of assessment.
Document Type: Article
Other literature type
File Description: application/pdf
Language: English
ISSN: 1743-498X
1743-4971
DOI: 10.1111/tct.70007
Access URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39710584
https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/19f1cf4d-0583-4af7-b6e3-7a1163f63bcd
Rights: CC BY
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....f9fdade00fe431720babcc5c61b3acbd
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
Abstract:BackgroundObjective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are used globally to assess health professional learners' clinical skills and applied knowledge. Despite innovations with simulated participants, manikin technology and real patient involvement, there remains a gap between ‘real‐life’ practice and ‘OSCE experience’. For example, although mobile phone use is increasingly common in clinical practice; however, it would represent a significant disruption to established assessment practices in OSCEs. We aimed to explore student use of mobile phones during OSCE assessment, with a focus on exam security, equity and relevance to practice.MethodsCultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) allows us to conceptualise and analyse complex systems such as those of OSCE assessment. We recruited a range of stakeholders in a UK medical school setting to participate in focus group interviews exploring our stated aim. Transcripts were analysed using CHAT as a theoretical lens to construct an activity system of assessment and identify emerging tensions around the use of a potentially disruptive technology: students' own mobile phones.FindingsSeven examiners, 13 medical students, and two simulated participants participated in three focus groups. Three sources of tension were identified: between the tools of assessment and practice, of exam security and exam relevance, and of medical students as people and professionals.Discussion and ConclusionThis study exemplifies how a seemingly small disruption in a complex system (introducing a mobile phone—a tool used in everyday practice) can help us understand and describe the unwritten rules of assessment.
ISSN:1743498X
17434971
DOI:10.1111/tct.70007