TY  - JOUR
A1  - Petko, Petkov
A1  - Knuth-Herzig, Katja
A1  - Höfer, Sebastian Herbert
A1  - Stehle, Sebastian
A1  - Scherer, Sonja
A1  - Steffen, Björn
A1  - Scherzer, Stephan
A1  - Ochsendorf, Falk
A1  - Horz, Holger
A1  - Sader, Robert Alexander
A1  - Gerhardt-Szép, Susanne
T1  - The reliability and predictive validity of a sixth-semester OSPE in conservative dentistry regarding performance on the state examination
T2  - GMS journal for medical education
N2  - Introduction: The aim of this study was to ascertain whether the testing format of an OSPE (Objective Structured Practical Examination) in conservative dentistry (sixth semester) predicts the scores on the practical section of the state examination (11th semester) in the same subject. Taking general student profiles into consideration (score on the school-leaving exam [Abitur], score on the preliminary exam in dental medicine [Physikum], length of university study, cohorts, and sex), we also investigated if any correlations or differences exist in regard to the total and partial scores on the OSPE and the corresponding state examination.
Methods: Within the scope of this longitudinal retrospective study, exam-specific data spanning 11 semesters for dental students (N=223) in Frankfurt am Main were collected and analyzed. Statistical analysis was carried out by calculating Spearman rank correlations, partial correlations, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regressions (SPSS Statistics 21, IBM Corporation, New York).
Results: The results show that the OSPE (Cronbach’s α=.87) correlates with level of success on the practical section of the state exam in conservative dentistry (p=.01, r=.17). Length of university study also emerged to correlate significantly with the state exam score (p=.001, r=.23). Together, these two variables contribute significantly to predicting the state exam score (p=.001, R2=.076). This was seen extensively among female students. It was also discovered that these female students had higher school-leaving exam scores than male students (F=6.09, p=.01, η2=.027), and that a significant correlation between scores on the Physikum (preliminary exam in dental medicine) and OSPE scores existed only for male students (r=.17, p=.01).
Conclusion: This study was able to demonstrate the predictive effect of a clinical OSPE regarding scores achieved on the state exam. Taking the limitations of this study into account, we are able to recommend using the OSPE testing format in the sixth semester during the clinical phase of dental study.
KW  - OSPE
KW  - OSCE
KW  - predictive validity
KW  - reliability
KW  - state exams
KW  - length of study
KW  - clinical competency
Y1  - 2017
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/44234
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-442347
SN  - 2366-5017
N1  - © 2017 Petko et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
VL  - 34
IS  - 1, Doc10
SP  - 1
EP  - 8
PB  - GMS
CY  - [Düsseldorf]
ER  -