OBJECTIVE STRUCTURED PRACTICAL EXAMINATION IN HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY PRACTICALS IN PHARM D CURRICULUM- A PILOT STUDY

Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) can be used to assess practical competencies in an appropriate, stepwise, methodical, objective and time-oriented manner with direct observation of the students performance. The present study was undertaken in the Human Anatomy and Physiology practicals with the First year Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) students at a private Pharmacy college. A set of 15 students were assessed using OSPE at 15 stations for a duration of 3 hours. The merits of OSPE include integration of knowledge, practical as well as communication skills with majority of the topics covered, transparent evaluation that covers most of the topics and was found to be student friendly. The demerits are, it requires planning, more number of examiners, time consuming and observers fatigue.Students indicated that the assessment using OSPE covered most of the topics and skill sets. Feedback from the students indicated that OSPE provided improvement and transparency in assessment and 90% of the student was in favour of OSPE. They felt the fear of facing the examiner relieved their anxiety.The students felt that the OSPE is an objective, unbiased and consistent mode of evaluation, deserving a place in Pharm D curriculum.