ReviewSouth African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care2026
The objective structured clinical examination in family medicine training: A comprehensive review for the South African context.
Review in South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The valid and reliable assessment of clinical competence is a cornerstone of medical education. The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) has been the hallmark of performance-based assessments for decades. A narrative review of foundational and contemporary literature, encompassing educational theory, psychometric studies and policy documents, was conducted to explore the OSCE's historical, theoretical and practical dimensions, focusing on its application, challenges and evolution within South African family medicine training. The article synthesises the OSCE benefits, its role in the fellowship examination and discusses the evolution towards a programmatic assessment incorporating workplace-based assessment. The OSCE remains a vital tool in medical education, but its role is evolving. Its future relevance will depend on continuous refinement, technological integration and thoughtful positioning alongside other assessment modalities.Contribution: This article provides a consolidated, context-specific resource for family physicians, registrars and educators, critically appraising the OSCE's enduring value and future trajectory within the local training landscape.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.