Patient Perspectives in Optometry Clinical Exams

BACKGROUND: Effective assessment of patient-centred care (PCC) is integral to clinical communication training. This study investigates the relationship between Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) scores and simulated patient (SP) questionnaire responses of 58 Optometry students. The analysis aims to identify specific aspects of PCC that correlate with examiner-assessed high performance, as well as highlight discrepancies between SP and examiner evaluations.

APPROACH: Analysis of the SP questionnaires and OSCE performance scores from communication-focused OSCE stations was conducted. The data were analysed using Spearman's rank correlations to assess associations between SP-rated elements such as ability to trust student practitioner, opportunities to ask questions, feeling concerns were addressed, willingness to return, willingness to refer to friend and/or family and OSCE scores.

EVALUATION: Trust, willingness to return and referral likelihood demonstrated strong positive correlations with OSCE performance, with willingness to return and referral likelihood demonstrating the strongest correlations. However, specific subdomains, such as the ability to ask questions, showed variability in importance to SPs across station types, being more relevant in counselling than in case history.

IMPLICATIONS: The findings suggest that global assessments may better capture patient perceptions of students' communication competence than microskills, such as the student's ability to invite questions, which vary in relevance across contexts. Aligning clinical training and evaluation frameworks with SP priorities, including addressing patient concerns and fostering trust, can enhance both patient satisfaction and the validity of PCC assessments.