Team-based OSCE Skills Assessment for Observable Team Skills

In preparation for collaborative care practice, students require opportunities to practice and demonstrate their skills in authentic clinical settings or highly-simulated scenarios. At Case Western Reserve University, our Interprofessional Learning Experience and Practice (ILEAP) program places interprofessional student teams of early learners into health care settings for 5-8 weeks to practice team skills, experience team-based patient care and add value to the clinic site. At the conclusion of the ILEAP experience, teams participate in a multi-station Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), testing both individual and team skills that contribute to collaborative care practice. The OSCE format is an accepted testing strategy to assess competence in technical and non-technical behaviors through a standardized content scenario and assessment. Our skills-based curriculum and assessment are based on the Direct Observation of Team Interactions (DOTI) instrument, which focuses on 15 observable team skills that include anchor definitions.

This talk will describe the purpose, content and format of the OSCE stations and the use of the DOTI. The OSCE consists of stations where students individually identify, describe and correct or enhance DOTI skills through video-based standardized patient scenarios. Included in these scenarios is the use of team-based tools such as SBAR. Team members then assemble to address a patient care scenario presented to the team either as a written case or a standardized patient (SP). The team activity is directly observed and rated by a trained observer, followed by the team’s use of DOTI to self-assess their team interactions for comparison with trained observers. Thus the OSCE provides assessment of individual skill as well as skill performance in the team setting. The OSCE stations have assessed corrected communication skills, team engagement, roles/responsibilities, and team process. The talk will invite discussion on the use and outcomes of team-based OSCEs.

Funding Attribution: This work supported by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation.