(PO-020) Evaluating Student Perceptions of Oral Examinations: A Systematic Review

Author: Suzanne Abreu, B.A. – Dental Student, NYU College of Dentistry
Author: Daniel Krichavets, B.S. – Dental Student, NYU College of Dentistry
Author: Mitchell J. Lipp, D.D.S. – Clinical Professor, NYU College of Dentistry
Submitter: Suzanne Abreu, B.A. – Dental Student, NYU College of Dentistry

Objectives: Oral examinations are well-suited to assess and evaluate examinees’ thinking skills for professional competence, despite concerns about students’ attitudes and perceptions. The purpose of this review was to identify valid and reliable methods to assess students’ attitudes towards oral examinations.

Methods:   The PICO format guided the electronic search (PubMed, ERIC, CINAHL, DOSS): Population-students in higher education institutions, Intervention- oral examinations, and Outcome-students’ perceptions of oral examinations. Following the electronic search, a hand search identified additional articles. Articles eligible for full-text assessment were reviewed based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The remaining articles were reviewed to assess methodological quality and risk of bias using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI).

Results: After removing duplicates, 711 articles were identified and then screened by title, yielding 11 articles. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 3 articles remained for qualitative synthesis. MERSQI scores revealed a range of 8 to 10 suggesting weaker quality with a higher risk of bias due to the inherent nature of observational studies.

Discussion: Anxiety, demographics, and academic background had notable influences on students’ perceptions. All three articles reported that students without prior exposure to oral examinations felt more challenged. Surveys containing broad, open-ended inquiries were more feasible when administered to a small sample size, while surveys that incorporate detailed Likert scale questions and few targeted open-ended questions were more efficient in capturing large sample size responses.

Conclusion: Although there was no published data on the use of survey tools to assess students’ perceptions of oral exams in dental education, the tools identified in this investigation will serve as a guide in the development of a validated and reliable method to assess students’ perceptions about oral competency examinations in the dental curriculum.