Study on perception and effectiveness of structured viva among first year MBBS students

Abstract

Removing the rigidity from Traditional Viva (TV) and making it flexible and easy with structured viva (SV) can drastically boost students' preparedness to appear confident in exam so that their knowledge and performance can improve. This study was conducted to identify the perception of faculties and students about SV and to evaluate the effect of SV on performance of students. After taking permission from Ethical committee, all willing students of first MBBS (2020-21), Government Medical College, Surat were enrolled in the study and were divided into 8 batches among 8 faculties. Pre validated SV cards were prepared well in advance. At the end of viva the pre-validated Questionnaire was given to collect their feedbacks for SV. Unpaired Student's t test and paired t test was applied for statistical analysis. When calculated statistically, it was found that, except for lower limb, students achieved more marks with SV as compared to TV. When combined and compared, the total marks obtained by the students in SV were more than the marks obtained in TV. The results from students' perspective suggests that SV is a more precise and unbiased way of practical examination of viva. It is valid, reliable and not/less subjective. Overall, Time consumption, Ease of execution, Ease of understanding and Ease of assessment make the SV a very good and noticeable option to TV. Considering faculties’ perception which was reflected as mixed responses, we can still create a good framework for installation of SV as a formative assessment method.