OSCE is primarily used to assess focused clinical skills such as history taking, physical examination, diagnosis, communication, and counseling.
[3][page needed] In the last three decades the OSCE has seen a steady exponential growth and usage in both undergraduate and postgraduate examinations around the globe.
It is considered to be an improvement over traditional examination methods[citation needed] because the stations can be standardised, enabling fairer peer comparison and complex procedures can be assessed without endangering patients health.
[clarification needed] OSCEs are designed to assess candidates' clinical skills more objectively.
OSCEs are also designed to be structured, with instructions carefully written to ensure that the candidate has a very specific task to complete in each station.
The examination is carefully structured to include parts from all elements of the curriculum as well as a wide range of skills.
One of the ways an OSCE is made objective is by having a detailed mark scheme and standard set of questions.
For example, a station concerning the demonstration to a simulated patient on how to use a metered dose inhaler (MDI) would award points for specific actions which are performed safely and accurately.
Finally, it is not uncommon at certain institutions for members of teaching staff be known to students (and vice versa) as the examiner.
This familiarity does not necessarily affect the integrity of the examination process, although there is a deviation from anonymous marking.
[5] Although the data tend to show no improvement in the overall scores in a later OSCE session, the research methodology is flawed and validity of the claim is questionable.