How high are the personnel costs for OSCE? A financial report on management aspects

Objective: The OSCE (objective structured clinical examination) was put to the test in order to assess the clinical practical skills of students in medical studies in the medical faculties. For the implementation of an OSCE, a large number of personnel is necessary. In particular for subjects with limited resources, therefore, efficient cost planning is required. In the winter semester 09/10, the Department of Neurology at the Medical Faculty of the University of Ulm introduced the OSCE as a pilot project. A financial report retrospectively shows the personnel expenses. The report is intended as an example for an insight into the resources needed for the OSCE with simulated patients. Method: Included in the calculation of the financial costs of the OSCE were: employment, status of staff involved in the OSCE, subject-matter and temporal dimension of the task. After the exam, acceptance of the examination format was reviewed by a focus group interview with the teachers and students. Result: The total expenses for the personnel involved in the OSCE amounted to 12,468 €. The costing of the clinic’s share was calculated at 9,576 €. Tuition fees from the students have been used to the amount of 2.892 €. For conversion of total expenditure to the number of examines the sum of 86 € per student was calculated. Both students and teachers confirmed the validity of the OSCE and recognised the added value in the learning effects. Conclusion: The high acceptance of the OSCE in neurology by both students and teachers favours maintaining the test format. Against the background of the high financial and logistical costs, however, in individual cases it should be assessed how in the long-term efficient examination procedure will be possible.