Gender difference in performance and perception about assessment tools in fifth [year] psychiatry attachment

Objective and methods: This study examined the influence of gender on undergraduate performance and attitude towards various aspects of the undergraduate final examination in psychiatry that include Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), Traditional Oral Clinical Examinations (TOCE), portfolio and multiple choice questions (MCQ) written exam among fifth [year] medical students at the King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. Results on all sections of the final examination were analyzed in the case of 110 students from the same [year]. Also, a self admin-istered student survey included eight items questionnaire assessing different aspects of the psychiatry assessment methods was also used. Results: The male students score higher on MCQ but there is no significant difference on the overall mark in both genders. Satisfaction score ranged between 11 and 24 among the studied students with a mean of 18.5±3.3. Females showed higher mean satisfaction score than males but the observed difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Female medical students appear to perform as well as their male counterparts in the undergraduate psychiatry clinical attachment but males outperform in MCQ examination. Although we would not recommend specific changes in undergraduate training, course organizers and supervising faculty staff need to identify which aspects of the psychiatry cause difficulty to the female students. This information would usefully inform future developments in undergraduate training.