The ACS Surgery Resident Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) was developed as a tool for assessing the entry-level knowledge and skills of PGY-1 surgery residents in delivering safe care to surgery patients with critical and life-threatening conditions. The OSCE is intended as a formative evaluation tool for providing residents with constructive feedback regarding their management of critical situations that they are likely to encounter, particularly when they are on call. Ten scenarios have been developed that unfold during a 10-minute clinical encounter and a 5-minute written post-encounter. Cases include the traditional use of standardized patients (SPs), as well as telephone conversations and encounters with standardized nurses and medical students.

The OSCE is designed for use by any residency program, regardless of previous experience with OSCEs or availability of a SP training program or facility. This program includes two parts: a CD that provides all the written materials and instructions needed to prepare for and administer the OSCE, and a DVD that provides a gold standard performance of each clinical scenario being portrayed by a SP and resident.

This project was supported by grant number U18 HS12021 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Developed by the American College of Surgeons Division of Education. 2008.