Impact of Mini-CEX and DOPS on clinical competence and satisfaction among final year medical students: a comparative interventional study

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To compare pre-and post-mean scores of Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX) and Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS), and to assess supervisor and student satisfaction with Mini-CEX and DOPS over time among final year medical undergraduates. METHODS: This study was conducted on 90 final year medical students at a Private Medical College in Karachi from May 2022 to November 2022. Pre-and post-testing involved Objective Structured Clinical Examination before and after the last session of DOPS and Mini-CEX, comprising six stations. Workshops on Mini-CEX and DOPS were conducted for supervisors and students before pre-testing. Core clinical competencies included history taking, physical examination, counselling skills, critical thinking, professionalism, organization, management skills, and overall clinical performance. Data was analysed through SPSS version-23. RESULTS: Over six months, 1080 encounters were conducted among 90 students in six sessions. Mean pre-test score for Mini-CEX was 13.78±3.61 and for DOPS was 11.57±3.0, with post-test scores of 43.61±3.38 and 42.28±1.8, respectively (p-value <0.0001). Management skills were most frequently assessed in Mini-CEX, while DOPS mainly evaluated counseling skills. Progressive improvement was noted across each session of Mini-CEX and DOPS, with mean scores increasing from 1.8 to 4.73 for Mini-CEX and from 1.8 to 2.88 for DOPS. Supervisor satisfaction rose from 2.53 to 4.64 for DOPS and from 1.04 to 2.53 for Mini-CEX over the six encounters. Majority of students expressed satisfaction with both assessments. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated significant improvement in clinical competencies over time assessed by Mini-CEX and DOPS, with high satisfaction among students and supervisors.