The Exam system in SimCapture Cloud is intended to assist in creating and running Objective Structured Clinical Exams (OSCEs). OSCEs typically involve multiple students having simulated encounters simultaneously, often with a Standardized Patient (SP). These encounters are recorded, and then students have the option of completing an evaluation and/or being evaluated by an SP.

Exam system components

The exam system is comprised of four interfaces – Student, Patient, Control, and Monitor.

• Student interface: Typically located on a computer outside the exam room and allows learners to log in, start/stop recordings (if enabled), and complete evaluations. The interface is run by a tray application installed on the workstation.
• Patient interface: Typically located on a computer inside the exam room, displaying a timer and any patient evaluation. The interface is run by a tray application installed on the workstation.
• Control interface: An administrator or Proctor can be located anywhere and is utilized to configure exam rooms, start/stop exams (if enabled), and view the status of all rooms simultaneously to facilitate exams. The control interface is accessed through the SimCapture Cloud website by clicking Control from Global Navigation.
• Monitor interface: Can be located anywhere live streaming is supported (typically within the institution or simulation center network) and allows for designated monitors to observe exam sessions as they occur. Monitors can also complete evaluations if required of them within this interface. The Monitor interface is accessed from the Control Interface by clicking the video icon in the control interface navigation.

Exam states & flows

Exam Flows control all Exams in SimCapture Cloud. Exam flows are configurable steps that designate what is displayed on each connected interface per room and what actions users have. Think of it as a "script" for the exam that keeps everything as automated as possible and running smoothly. SimCapture Cloud ships with various possible exam flows, which can be further configured to meet your exam's needs.

SimCapture Cloud supports the following steps.

Honor code

• Appears on: The Student Interface
• Behavior: Students will be prompted to accept an honor code after logging into their interface. If a student does not accept the honor code, they are returned to the login screen. If they accept the honor code, they are moved to the next state in the exam flow.
• Configuration/Customization Options: The honor code can be edited from the System Setup area of the software. Only one honor code is supported at this time.

Door notes

• Appears on: The Student Interface
• Behavior: Students will see a door note which typically contains information about the encounter or instructions before entering the room. Students cannot interact with the door note other than clicking "Continue" when they are done reading it to move to the next state.
• Configuration/Customization Options:
• If a door note is required in an exam flow, there will be an option within the scenario to create your door note or copy one from another Scenario. Door notes can have informational text and media but cannot contain questions as students cannot select answers.
• If an EMR is enabled for this exam, it will appear directly after the door note for the learner to interact with before their encounter.

Encounter

• Appears on: All interfaces are impacted by the Encounter State.
• Behavior: The encounter state occurs while the student is in the room with the SP and is the core of every exam flow. Encounters are recorded and create sessions within SimCapture for debriefing or for Monitors to view live.
• Configuration/Customization options:
• Starting sessions:
  • The encounters will either be "Student-Run" or "Proctor Run " depending on the exam flow." In the former, students both start and stop their recordings. In the latter, the Proctor must start recordings from the Control Interface, and students will stop their recording.
  • Proctor starts are usually done when all rooms need to start simultaneously. In contrast, student start is generally done when proctors are unavailable or less involved or for lower stakes exams with less rigid timetables.
• Evaluations: If an EMR is enabled for this exam, it will appear on the patient interface during the exam for the learner to interact with.
• Timers:
  • The encounter state is typically timed. The timer can be configured to be as short or long as the exam requires.
  • Timers can also be configured as "hard" or "soft." Hard timers will automatically advance to the next exam flow state once complete, whereas a soft timer will be allowed to hit and remain at "0" without impacting the exam.

Post-encounter

• Appears on: The Student and/or Patient workstation
• Behavior: The Post-Encounter state occurs after the student has left the room and allows students and/or patients time to complete a post-encounter evaluation. Once all evaluations are submitted, the room will reset for the next encounter and return to the login screen.
• Configuration/Customization:
• Evaluations: Whether a student evaluation, learner evaluation/EMR, or both are required on the chosen exam flow. Required evaluations can be built from the Scenario page either from scratch or from a copy of another Scenario's evaluation.
• Timers:
  • The post-encounter state is typically timed. The timer can be configured to be as short or long as the exam requires.
  • Timers can also be configured as "hard" or "soft." Hard timers will submit the evaluation and automatically advance to the next exam flow state once complete. In contrast, a soft timer will be allowed to hit and remain at "0" without impacting the exam.

Note: If an exam contains post-encounter evaluations, they will be automatically created at the start of the exam and appear in the session debrief screen for completion by an Administrator or System Administrator who has Edit Course and View Results permissions if the evaluation wasn't able to be filled out during the exam.

Exam flow customization

Customize your Proctor or Student-driven exam flows to include any combination of Honor Code, Door Notes, EMR, Student Evaluation, Patient Evaluation, Audio announcements and Follow-Ups.

Student-driven - student toggle on

Proctor-driven - student toggle off