Standardization of clinical competency evaluation in the education of physical therapists and occupational therapists - Establishment of an OSCE compliant education system -

Abstract

[Purpose] This study investigated the progress of standardization of "clinical competencies evaluation with definition" in the education of physical therapists and occupational therapists by searching for relevancies between performance in Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), university and practical training. [Subjects and Methods] Subjects were 227 students who graduated between 2007 and 2009, and 174 students who graduated between 2010 and 2011. For data analyses, comparisons among different timings of practical training as well as between before and after reform of the OSCE compliant education system were performed. In addition, relationships among different timings of practical training with performance were also examined. [Results] Because of reform of OSCE compliant education system, performance in practical training (attitude, skills, knowledge) generally improved. Moreover, relationships between the performances in OSCEs and practical training became higher each year. [Conclusion] We would like to promote standardization of the clinical techniques for postgraduate education aiming to further extend the OSCE compliant education system.