Last year, fifth- and sixth-year general medical students of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Pécs once again had the opportunity to participate in an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). This internationally established, complex assessment methodology has now been contributing for the third consecutive year to the development and structured assessment of students’ practical skills, clinical reasoning, and communication competencies.
During OSCE 2025, a total of 60 students took part in the formative, non-graded examination, conducted in Hungarian, English, and German, with 20 students per language. The exam was organized in six rotations, each consisting of ten different stations. The stations modeled realistic clinical scenarios, including emergency care, primary care settings, inpatient wards, and operating room environments. Throughout the examination, students practiced, among others, acute patient assessment with ABCDE approach, history taking, focused physical examination, procedural skills, and special situations in doctor–patient communication, such as breaking bad news. As in previous years, the aim of the examination was to assess core medical competencies along common and clinically relevant conditions. Using structured assessment forms, each student received immediate, detailed feedback on their performance; in addition to technical execution, clinical reasoning and the quality of communication were also evaluated.
Based on participant feedback, OSCE 2025 was again well organized, featuring realistic and lifelike situations, and effectively supported students in identifying both their strengths and areas for development.
Some student and faculty reflections include:
„I was able to test my knowledge, and my strengths as well as areas for improvement became clear. These do not necessarily emerge during a traditional exam.” (student)
„I learned a great deal; the situations were realistic, and it was especially valuable that I had to complete the tasks independently. The instructors’ feedback was extremely targeted and effective.” (student)
„It modeled very well what is required in real life: one moment you have to break bad news, the next you must make decisions in an emergency situation. It highlighted that in everyday practice there is no opportunity to flip back through a textbook—lexical knowledge and skills must be applied immediately.” (student)
„It was good to see students in realistic, clinically simulated situations that they had not previously encountered. These are an essential part of medical practice.” (inctructor)
A total of 55 instructors from numerous clinics and institutes participated in the examination, along with 31 trained simulated patients representing the Simulated Patient Program of the Department of Languages for Biomedical Purposes and Communication with additional demonstrators.
Clinics, examiners, and simulated patients involved in OSCE 2025:
Department of Primary Health Care: Dr. Csikós Ágnes, dr. Fülöp Balázs, dr. Pozsgai Éva, dr. Ruzsa Beáta, dr. Ujvári Balázs
Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy: Dr. Viktor Bacher, Dr. Márton Németh, Dr. Martin Rozanovic, Dr. Diana Schrick
Department of Languages for Biomedical Purposes and Communication: Dr. Judit Fekete, Dr. Rita Kránicz, Dr. Katalin Lepenye Eklicsné, Dr. Anikó Kőhalmi Hambuchné, Renáta Halász, Dr. Alexandra Csongor Szántóné
Department of Otorhinolaryngology: Dr. István Háromi, Dr. Adrienn Németh, Dr. István Tóth
1st Department of Medicine: Dr. Judit Bajor, Dr. László Czopf, Dr. Roland Hágendorn, Dr. Béla Hunyady, Dr. Dániel Pécsi, Dr. István Ruzsics, Dr. Patrícia Sarlós, Dr. Szilvia Soós, Dr. Péter Varjú, Dr. Péter Vén, Dr. Éva Németh Ferencziné
2nd Department of Internal Medicine and Nephrology, Diabetology Centre: Dr. Viktória Bekő, Dr. Szilárd Kun, Dr. Boglárka Laczy, Dr. Gergő Molnár, Dr. Balázs Sági, Dr. Judit Sebők
Department of Behavioural Sciences: Dr. Boróka Gács
Department of Neurology: Dr. Beáta Bóné, Dr. Csilla Gyimesi, Dr. Márk Harmat, Dr. Zsófia Nozomi Karádi, Dr. Renáta Rozgonyi, Dr. Ágnes Sebők, Dr. Dalma Tényi
Medical Skills Education and Innovation Centre: Dr. Zoltán Sándor, Adrienn Jakabovics
Department of Surgery: Dr. Sándor Ferencz
Teaching Hospital Mór Kaposi, Kaposvár, Department of Neurology: Dr. Orsolya Török
Department of Emergency Medicine: Dr. Balázs Cséke, Dr. Lajos Szakó
Urology Clinic: Dr. Mátyás Belák, Dr. Bence Béres, Dr. Péter Czétány, Dr. Miklós Damásdi, Dr. Sebestyén Kovács, Dr. Ákos Pytel, Dr. Donát Péter Sarlós
Simulated Patient Program and Demonstrators: Lívia Breuer, Christel Dürr, Corina Kappen, Szilvia Dargó, Márk Dömötör, János Flódung, Mária Flódung, Csilla Földes, Ildikó Frank, Guillermo Gastiaburu, Bálint Hír, Bernadett Kratofil, Leah Stanzel, Orsolya Ligetfalvi, Ákos Lokodi, Katalin Major, Ákos Markovics, Zsófia Pásztor, Vince Ronczyk, Ildikó Russay, Nia Mahan Sayadi, György Szabó, Gergely Szép, Thea Müller, Márk Vincent Keppler, Janka Zöldvölgyi, as well as Levente Barton Blakney, Eszter Bodrogvári, Dorottya Fritz, Joori Park, and Anetta Tóth
The project was led professionally by Dr. Judit Sebők (2nd Department of Internal Medicine and Nephrology, Diabetology Center), while organizational coordination was carried out by Dr. Gergely Csaba from the Division of Medical Education Development and Communication at the Department of Behavioral Sciences. Coordination and preparation of simulated patients were managed by instructors from the Department of Languages for Biomedical Purposes and Communication - Dr. Anikó Kőhalmi Hambuchné, Dr. Judit Fekete, Dr. Katalin Lepenye Eklicsné, Renáta Halász, Dr. Rita Kránicz, and Dr. Alexandra Csongor Szántóné - who also supported student assessment during the exam as communication experts. The infrastructural background and modern simulation equipment were provided by the professionals and technicians of the Medical Skills Education and Innovation Centre (OKIK), led by Dr. Szilárd Rendeki.
In spring 2026, the faculty is preparing to examine more than 90 students, involving additional clinics and aligning with international accreditation requirements and the strategic directions of practice-oriented medical education. The long-term goal of the faculty is to integrate the OSCE into the compulsory curriculum. An important milestone in this process is that, upon the proposal of Vice Dean for Education Dr. László Czopf and the decision of the Curriculum Committee, OSCE will become a mandatory curricular element in the 10th semester for students who began their studies in 2025 or later.
Colleagues interested in the OSCE can learn more about the topic in various teacher training courses - for example, the course on “Learning about modern teaching methods and developing teaching skills” on the topic of examination methodology, or in the materials of the “Módszertani Morzsák” available on POTEPedia. Information related to the current OSCE can be found on the website.
Gallery:
Photos:
Kornélia Bálint