When "Well-Done" Is Not the Same: Item Response Theory Analysis of Medicine Residents' OSCE Communication Ratings Across Modalities

The authors aimed to compare the communication proficiency required for specific checklist ratings in virtual versus in-person Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) for Internal Medicine residents. While overall communication performance was similar across modalities, they found that residents needed a lower level of proficiency to achieve a "partly done" rating for the item related to patient understanding in virtual encounters. This study highlights the importance of examining individual communication skills to understand how modality may influence assessment outcomes.