Does learning style influence performance in objective structured clinical examinations?

Background: Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) aim to assess medical students' clinical skills rather than just their theoretical knowledge. We propose a study between the learning style of second-cycle medical students and their performance in OSCEs.

Methods: During their internship at our hospital, students were invited to complete the LSQ-Fa, a questionnaire designed to identify their preferences among 4 learning styles: active, reflective, theoretical, and pragmatic. In parallel, an evaluation of their clinical skills was conducted through OSCEs. We then performed an analysis to establish a correlation between learning styles and OSCE performance, to better understand how learning preferences influence academic outcomes.

Results: Between April 2021 and January 2023, 55 students were evaluated by OSCEs and had completed the LSQ-Fa. The average OSCE score was 14.8/20. The theoretical learning style was predominant in 47.3% of students, followed by active (27.3%), reflective (14.6%), and pragmatic (5.4%), with 3 cases of mixed active and theoretical styles (5.4%). No significant correlation was observed between learning style and OSCE performance (p = 0.28), although students with a pragmatic style recorded a slightly higher average.

Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of considering diverse learning styles in the design of medical education programs.