Correlation between clinical clerkship achievement and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) scores of graduating dental students on conservative dentistry

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the effect of clinical clerkship-associated achievements, such as performance of procedures at the student clinic, observation, and attitude towards a clerkship, on the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) scores of dental students graduating in restorative dentistry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The OSCEs consisted of two stations designed to assess students' clinical skills regarding cavity preparation for a class II gold inlay and a class IV composite restoration. The clerkship achievements, consisting of the number of student clinical procedures performed, observation-related OSCE, and scores of their attitudes towards a conservative dentistry clerkship, were assessed. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The correlation coefficient between the OSCE scores for cavity preparation for a class II gold restoration and clerkship attitude scores was 0.241 (p < 0.05). Regarding a class IV composite restoration, OSCE scores showed statistically significant correlations with the observation (r = 0.344, p < 0.01) and attitude (r = 0.303, p < 0.01) scores. In a multiple regression analysis, attitudes towards a clerkship (p = 0.033) was associated with the cavity preparation for a class II gold inlay OSCE scores, while the number of procedure observations (p = 0.002) was associated with the class IV composite restoration OSCE scores. CONCLUSIONS: The number of clinical procedures performed by students, which is an important requirement for graduation, showed no correlation with either of the OSCEs scores.