Abstract

Background- Team Objective Structured Bedside Assessment (TOSBA) is a ward based, directly observed group assessment tool. The present study was undertaken to assess the impact of TOSBA in improving clinical competence of postgraduate students and also to assess student and staff perceptions of this method of formative assessment. Material and Methods- To study the impact of TOSBA, the students were divided into 2 groups. Group A was taken as ‘study group’ and Group B as ‘control group’, both groups comprising of three students each. Consecutive students in each group were given ten minutes for performing one of three different standardized clinical tasks. The students were directly observed performing the tasks and were graded on their performance in each group. Group A students were provided with educational feedback by the examiner at the end of the session, whereas Group B did not receive any feedback, but were shown their grades at the end of each TOSBA session. A pre-test in first session and post –test at the end of total 3 TOSBA sessions, was conducted on both groups. Feedback was taken from both, the students and staff members, regarding their view about this method of assessment in the form of a questionnaire, on various points on a Likert scale. Results and conclusion- The mean score for post-test in the study group was (7.51 ± 0.67) whereas the mean post-test score in the control group, which was not subjected to feedback, was (6. 34 ± 0.12), for which P value of <0.0001 was obtained, which was statistically highly significant. The present study showed that TOSBA, as a formative method of assessment, improves all the three major domains of the learner and reinforces team communication skills.

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