{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T13:02:44Z","timestamp":1787317364088,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777852800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777852800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001635","name":"University of Limerick","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001635","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Ir J Med Sci"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated unprecedented changes to clinical education and assessment. Restrictions on in-person clinical encounters led to rapid adoption of digital assessment modalities, raising concerns about graduate preparedness and the validity of pandemic-adapted assessment approaches. Wojniusz, [40].<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This scoping review aimed to: (1) map approaches to assessing clinical competence in medical students during COVID-19; and (2) evaluate the validity, reliability, feasibility, and acceptability of pandemic-adapted assessments.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Following Arksey and O\u2019Malley\u2019s framework, we systematically searched six databases (PubMed\/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, ERIC, Google Scholar) for peer-reviewed empirical studies published March 2020-March 2023 examining clinical competence assessment in final-year medical students. Studies were analyzed using Van der Vleuten\u2019s utility framework (validity, reliability, feasibility, acceptability) and Miller\u2019s Pyramid to categorize competency levels assessed.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      From 1,247 references, 13 studies met inclusion criteria, representing 8 countries. Virtual OSCEs were the predominant assessment method (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20098, 62%). Study designs were predominantly weak: surveys (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20096), evaluative case studies (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20094), and observational studies (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20092), with only three cohort studies providing stronger evidence. Most studies (92%) focused on feasibility and acceptability rather than validity or psychometric properties. Physical examination and procedural skills assessment remained a critical unresolved limitation across all digital modalities. No studies employed generalizability theory or Kane\u2019s validity framework.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A paucity of rigorous research on pandemic-adapted assessment validity exists. Published studies employed weak designs producing non-generalizable findings focused on feasibility over validity. Urgent research priorities include: longitudinal cohort studies comparing pandemic-trained graduates to pre-pandemic cohorts; psychometric validation of hybrid assessment models now institutionalized; application of contemporary validity frameworks to digital assessments; and equity analysis of differential impacts across student populations. The field requires systematic validity evidence before permanently adopting pandemic-adapted approaches.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1007\/s11845-026-04431-x","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T08:02:37Z","timestamp":1777881757000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The assessment of clinical competence in medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review"],"prefix":"10.1007","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-4759-3380","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Harry","family":"McGrath","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elysha","family":"Brennan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dominic","family":"Harmon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"4431_CR1","first-page":"1916104","volume":"26","author":"T Abal","year":"2021","unstructured":"Abal T et al (2021) COVID-19 and medical education: Rethinking student assessment\u2014The Virtual Observational Standard Clinical Examination. 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