SynthesisBMC medical education2025
Impact of station number and duration time per station on the reliability of Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) scores: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC medical education, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Feasibility and implementation of a final year Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in a medical model curriculum.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- The CICM second part viva reliability coefficient: Which index, for which decision, against which benchmark?Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2026Article
- Evaluation of the objective structured clinical examination in the assessment of nuclear medicine residency training.Insights into imaging · 2026Article
- The reliability of the College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand viva examination.Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2026Article
- Agreement and reliability of global rating versus checklist scores in a high-stakes undergraduate OSCE in Rwanda.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Reliable Assessment of Healthcare Procedures: A Comparison of On-Site and Video-Based Methods.Advances in medical education and practice · 2026Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a systematic and structured assessment tool that evaluates candidates' professional medical skills in a simulated environment through a series of time-limited stations. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine the optimal station number and duration time per station of OSCE to achieve good reliability.
methodsA comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed and Embase from inception until August 2024, without language restrictions. Studies were included if they provided data on the station number and duration time of OSCE, along with Cronbach's alpha. A random-effects model was used to pool the data.
resultsA total of 23 studies encompassing 26 Cronbach's alpha were finally included. Cronbach's alpha values ranged from 0.43 to 0.93, and 11 studies demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ≥ 0.8). The analysis indicated that a design of 5-10 stations, with each station lasting less than 10 min, yielded the best internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.86, 1.00).
conclusionsThis meta-analysis suggests that the station number of OSCE falling in between 5 and 10, with each station time lasting no more than 10 min are likely to yield good reliability and strong internal consistency.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.