Abstract
The purpose of this study is to consider effective methods of practical physical therapy training by developing a new objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for physical therapy education and analyzing the results of a trial run. With all instructors in this major involved, a physical therapy OSCE was developed and a 30-page physical therapy OSCE manual was produced. The subjects were 18 students who were about to start clinical training in their senior year. A total of 4 tasks were assigned, each of which consisting of 25-29 questions. Task 1 was for pulse rate and blood pressure measurements. Task 2 for joint range of motion tests and manual muscle tests, and both were performed in patients who underwent total knee replacement. Task 3 was medical interviews, Task 4 was for balance tests, and both were administered to hemiplegic patients. The average accuracy rate of the total was 78.4%. Among the four tasks, the accuracy rate of the medical interview was significantly lower than the others. Evaluation was done by four pairs of instructors and the average concordance rate between each pair was almost 70%. Like the OSCE used in medical education, physical therapy OSCE was considered to be feasible for the evaluation of basic skills and interaction with patients. Adding an overall impression to evaluation was considered effective for comprehensive understanding of adaptability in the clinical trainings.
