However some schools give MCQ's associated with each case, focusing on information learned during problem-solving and related to the case to assess PART of the grade. These are successful in getting students to integrate the knowledge they have learned. The Objective structured clinical exam, which can be used both formatively and summatively, is a composite of many single observational assessments of clinical performance and competence. Similar to more familiar laboratory practical examinations, it can sample student performance in a variety of areas and makes maximum use of the time available so that many separate performances and students can be assessed at any one time. At each station, students are asked to perform a specific, measurable task such as taking a patient history, assessing a prescription, counseling a patient, writing a report, solving a problem, and interpreting findings such as lab reports and the literature.
Stations are of two types.
At examiner stations an observer is asked to score a student's performance, usually entailing interaction with a standardized patient or situational problem. At marker stations a student is asked to write written assessment items that require subsequent marking. Rating forms or standardized checklists are used to assess the observation components of the assessment. The OSCE has been used for student evaluation in many professional education programs, particularly medicine, where it was originated. It has become a component of the medical licensing process in Canada where as many as 1700 students can be assessed in as little as two days.