Can relaxation exercises improve students’ OSCE grades: a prospective study
Introduction: OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) are a means of assessing health profession students. However, they are a source of stress or anxiety for students. The aim of our study was to improve medical students’ performance during OSCEs by using human performance optimization te...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Canadian Medical Education Journal
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Canadian Medical Education Journal |
| Online Access: | https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cmej/article/view/77739 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832595531848744960 |
|---|---|
| author | Damien Massalou Jérôme Doyen Fabien Almairac Pierre-Simon Rohrlich Jean-Paul Fournier Clair Vandersteen Nirvana Sadaghianloo |
| author_facet | Damien Massalou Jérôme Doyen Fabien Almairac Pierre-Simon Rohrlich Jean-Paul Fournier Clair Vandersteen Nirvana Sadaghianloo |
| author_sort | Damien Massalou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Introduction: OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) are a means of assessing health profession students. However, they are a source of stress or anxiety for students. The aim of our study was to improve medical students’ performance during OSCEs by using human performance optimization techniques (HPOT).
Methods: Naïve students for OSCE were divided into blocks of five, randomized to HPOT and control groups. Before starting their OSCE circuit, HPOT blocks underwent a 30-minute preparation session. Anxiety was assessed before and after the OSCE using a Visual Analogic Scale (VAS).
Results: We randomized and assigned 206 students to 41 blocks of which 20 were HPOT and 21 were control. Anxiety before the exam was significantly reduced thanks to the HPOT procedure with a median value of six and four on the VAS respectively before and after the relaxation session (p = 0.001). The final exam score was not associated with pre-OSCE anxiety (p = 0.5). The HPOT procedure did not improve the final score (p = 0.4). Interestingly, the final score was inversely correlated with the final median anxiety VAS reading after the exam (p = 0.01): students with the lowest anxiety VAS achieved better scores.
Conclusion: Relaxation, conscious breathing, and positive reinforcement methods reduced students’ anxiety prior to their OSCE; however, these techniques did not improve their scores.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3c5b783691da422690db61107a571d3d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1923-1202 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Canadian Medical Education Journal |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Canadian Medical Education Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-3c5b783691da422690db61107a571d3d2025-01-18T16:36:50ZengCanadian Medical Education JournalCanadian Medical Education Journal1923-12022025-01-0110.36834/cmej.77739Can relaxation exercises improve students’ OSCE grades: a prospective study Damien Massalou0Jérôme Doyen1Fabien Almairac2Pierre-Simon Rohrlich3Jean-Paul Fournier4Clair Vandersteen5Nirvana Sadaghianloo6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3394-8458Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de NiceCentre Antoine LacassagneCentre Hospitalier Universitaire de NieCentre Hospitalier Universitaire de NiceCentre Hospitalier Universitaire de NiceCentre Hospitalier Universitaire de NiceCentre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice Introduction: OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) are a means of assessing health profession students. However, they are a source of stress or anxiety for students. The aim of our study was to improve medical students’ performance during OSCEs by using human performance optimization techniques (HPOT). Methods: Naïve students for OSCE were divided into blocks of five, randomized to HPOT and control groups. Before starting their OSCE circuit, HPOT blocks underwent a 30-minute preparation session. Anxiety was assessed before and after the OSCE using a Visual Analogic Scale (VAS). Results: We randomized and assigned 206 students to 41 blocks of which 20 were HPOT and 21 were control. Anxiety before the exam was significantly reduced thanks to the HPOT procedure with a median value of six and four on the VAS respectively before and after the relaxation session (p = 0.001). The final exam score was not associated with pre-OSCE anxiety (p = 0.5). The HPOT procedure did not improve the final score (p = 0.4). Interestingly, the final score was inversely correlated with the final median anxiety VAS reading after the exam (p = 0.01): students with the lowest anxiety VAS achieved better scores. Conclusion: Relaxation, conscious breathing, and positive reinforcement methods reduced students’ anxiety prior to their OSCE; however, these techniques did not improve their scores. https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cmej/article/view/77739 |
| spellingShingle | Damien Massalou Jérôme Doyen Fabien Almairac Pierre-Simon Rohrlich Jean-Paul Fournier Clair Vandersteen Nirvana Sadaghianloo Can relaxation exercises improve students’ OSCE grades: a prospective study Canadian Medical Education Journal |
| title | Can relaxation exercises improve students’ OSCE grades: a prospective study |
| title_full | Can relaxation exercises improve students’ OSCE grades: a prospective study |
| title_fullStr | Can relaxation exercises improve students’ OSCE grades: a prospective study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Can relaxation exercises improve students’ OSCE grades: a prospective study |
| title_short | Can relaxation exercises improve students’ OSCE grades: a prospective study |
| title_sort | can relaxation exercises improve students osce grades a prospective study |
| url | https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cmej/article/view/77739 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT damienmassalou canrelaxationexercisesimprovestudentsoscegradesaprospectivestudy AT jeromedoyen canrelaxationexercisesimprovestudentsoscegradesaprospectivestudy AT fabienalmairac canrelaxationexercisesimprovestudentsoscegradesaprospectivestudy AT pierresimonrohrlich canrelaxationexercisesimprovestudentsoscegradesaprospectivestudy AT jeanpaulfournier canrelaxationexercisesimprovestudentsoscegradesaprospectivestudy AT clairvandersteen canrelaxationexercisesimprovestudentsoscegradesaprospectivestudy AT nirvanasadaghianloo canrelaxationexercisesimprovestudentsoscegradesaprospectivestudy |