Kadeangadi, Deepti MNaik, Vijaya AShivaswamy, M SMallapur, M D2014-07-082014-07-082014-01Kadeangadi Deepti M, Naik Vijaya A, Shivaswamy M S, Mallapur M D. Objective structured clinical examination; a tool for formative assessment. National Journal of Integrated Research in Medicine. 2014 Jan-Feb; 5(1): 111-115.http://imsear.searo.who.int/handle/123456789/152500Background & Objective: Conventional examination system mostly assesses student’s theoretical knowledge and fails to assess clinical competencies required for future practice. OSCE is objective and reliable method of assessment; if included as formative assessment, can identify student deficiencies and help them to prepare better for summative assessments. Methods: The present study was conducted to know the role of OSCE in formative assessment, in comparison with long case discussions in Community Medicine. 126 undergraduate medical students of 2008 admission batch, who had appeared for practical and OSCE exams in pre-final year were included in the study. Mean, S.D. and correlation co-efficient were used for analysis. Results: The students performed better in long case discussions (68.60 ± 9.7) compared to OSCE (48.67 ± 10.3) in the present study. 80% of students perceived that OSCE is one of the good methods of assessment. The students felt that it creates an insight on self performance of students and helps them to prepare better in summative assessment. Conclusion: OSCE can be included in formative assessments, as there is uniformity in assessment and objectivity in scoring. Majority of students perceived OSCE as one of the good methods of assessment.enOSCEFormative AssessmentUndergraduate Medical StudentsArticle