Application of modified mini-clinical evaluation exercise in the cultivation of orthopaedic students

Objective To apply the mini-clinical evaluation exercise (Mini-CEX) to orthopaedics and check its influence on clinical operational abilities and thinking abilities. Methods The original Mini-CEX was modified to fit orthopaedics, and another Mini-CEX was established to test interns' clinical operational abilities. A total of 39 interns had to complete two types of Mini-CEX twice, once at the beginning and once at the end of the internship. Clinical supervisors collected all the scores and analysed the differences in the average scores between the first and second assessments. The interns were divided into Qualified teacher group and Excellent teacher group according to their Mini-CEX scores. Results The results of the Mini-CEX examination of the two groups were compared. Researchers found a significant difference between the two assessments on seven domains (all P < 0.05). The scores at the end were higher than those at the beginning, which indicated that the interns' clinical thinking and operational abilities had improved. The average scores of the interns in the Excellent teacher group were significantly higher than those of interns in the Qualified teacher group. Conclusions The modified Mini-CEX is suitable for orthopaedic education and could help cultivate interns' clinical thinking ability.