40. Correlation Between OSCEs and Dental Hygiene Clinic Grades

Objective structured clinical exams (OSCEs) are a valuable tool for assessment of students’ understanding of theoretical concepts, as well as their ability to implement those skills clinically. Additionally, OSCEs help educators determine the readiness of a student to progress to the next phase of the dental hygiene program. In an attempt to determine the correlation between student performance on OSCEs and success in clinical courses, a four-year comparison was performed. The OSCE results were not tied to a specific clinical grade. However, students were required to pass the test in order to pass the didactic course.