A Qualitative Study of Psychiatrists’ View About a Pilot Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in Iran

In aug 2004, for the first time, a psychiatric osce was piloted in iran. the objective of currentstudy was to explore the view and opinion of both candidates and examiners after they took part in the exam.methods: two focus groups were formed. there were 10 participants in each group. each group was askedto discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the osce. the discussion was tape recorded and then convertedinto a script before being analyzed.results: standard format of the exam and its unbiased evaluation of candidates’ abilities were reported as themost significant advantages of osce. however, participants criticized the artificiality of the setting and use ofsimulated patients.conclusion: although expensive and time consuming to organize, osce was viewed as a standard and fairmethod of assessing candidates’ skills. to overcome the artificiality of the setting, participants asked for a bettertraining of the actors and actresses.iranian journal of psychiatry and behavioral sciences (ijpbs) , volume 1, number 1, spring and summer 2007 : 27-29 .