Level of satisfaction and correlation between the performance and self-evaluation of physical therapy students in the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) when using physical agents

Introduction: Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is a validated instrument that allows measuring clinical skills in health sciences students; thus, it is important to know the students’ level of satisfaction with this strategy, as well as the correlation between performance and self-evaluation. Objectives: To determine the correlation between the performance and self-evaluation (perceived performance) of Chilean physical therapy students in an OSCE designed to assess their clinical skills when using physical agents, and to assess their level of satisfaction with it. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in 111 physical therapy students who participated in an OSCE consisting of seven stations. Performance checklists were used at each station (passing score: 70% of the maximum score per station) and students were administered 2 perception surveys for self-evaluation purposes and for determining their level of satisfaction with the OSCE. The Spearman Rho test was performed to determine the correlation between station scores and the students’ self-evaluation (significance level of p<0.05). Results: Median scores higher than the passing score were observed in 5 stations (S1=66, IQR: 52-70; S2=55, IQR: 45-60; S3=60, IQR: 50-69; S4=65, IQR: 55-73; S7=40, IQR: 33-45), except for the strengthening and parameter interpretation stations (S5=54, IQR:46-65; S6=10, IQR: 9-13). A positive significant correlation was found between the OSCE scores and the students’ self-evaluation in five stations (S3: p=0.042; S4: p<0.0001; S5: p=0.000; S6: p=0.000; S7: p<0.0001). The students’ level of satisfaction with the OSCE was high, with 89.18% of them stating they agreed with how it was organized. Conclusion: The OSCE allowed the evaluation of the participants’ clinical skills when using physical agents. Also, their performance in the OSCE was consistent with their self-evaluation, which proves the usefulness of the instrument. The students’ high level of satisfaction with this methodology supports its use, since they acknowledge both its contribution and the importance of using similar tools to improve their training.