I have just completed a three-day stint, assessing my Medical Students through short case examinations as part of their end-of-posting assessments. 44 students, 3 days. 15 students per session on average, when you have to locate the patients and material for discussion. It was hard work. The main issue was the venue. It was a general third class ward, and there were no proper place to conduct a proper assessment or engage in discussion. It was too noisy and loud. Patients, doctors and relatives were everywhere. Patients were hot and grumpy. Getting through the 15 students at 10 minutes each, even if we stick to the time, will set me back 2 and a half hour.
By noon, everyone was grumpy and the lunch trolley have already started its rounds. So planning was the key.
Planning .... and planningThe main obstacle I had was actually something very different. As I can’t bar the student from entering the ward, they were practically hovering around me, spying while I was performing assessment. Worst still, they had been practicing on the patients I planned to use, and by the time I got around to use them, they were already tired and irritated. Sigh! So, the students were smart after all. Smart enough to make my life miserable! And I was sure you won’t like a miserable examiner, or do you?