Medical education
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With the objective of evaluating and accrediting the quality of medical education in the country, the Mexican Association of Medical Schools initiated the National Programme for the Strengthening of the Quality of Medical Education (PNFCE). This programme led to the establishment of the National System of Accreditation. Medical school deans in Mexico determined the criteria for the evaluation of quality and its subsequent standards through a consensus process. ⋯ The self-evaluation phase started in 1994. In 1996 four schools submitted their request for accreditation. As of July 1996, one survey visit has been completed and three more are programmed for the second half of the year.
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The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) now has an established place in the assessment of the medical undergraduate. While much has been written about the reliability of the OSCE, empirical work on the determination of the passing score which represents competence on the OSCE is rarely encountered. If the OSCE is to play its role in the 'high stakes' testing of clinical competence, it is important that this passing score be set reliably and defensibly. ⋯ In the first session, the judges (individually and in silence) used their professional judgement to estimate the score which a minimally competent final year obstetrics and gynaecology student should achieve on each tested element of the OSCE. In the second session they revised their session 1 judgements in the light of the OSCE scores of real students and the opportunity for structured discussion. The passing score for the OSCE is reported together with the statistical measures which assure its reliability.