*1.2. Online or Virtual Practical Examination*

There are several virtual or online practical examinations assessed in the literature including virtual streaming and screen activity recordings. These online practical examinations are conducted through the form of live streaming, video-conferencing style platforms that provide the opportunity to have several participants at a time. These platforms are mainly laptop and/or mobile phone app based, where an individual speaking directly to the camera on a mobile phone has the facility to invite several people to chat on-screen simultaneously.

Based on the literature, video conferencing seems to be the method utilised for medical and nursing students' virtual examinations. Several web-based video-conferencing platforms have emerged over the last decade that deliver audio, video, and screen-sharing experiences across various devices, enabling users to host webinars, virtual meetings, video demonstrations, video-conferences, and online training [17]. Video conferencing, as another method of virtual practical examination, offers assessors the potential for distance assessment of student skills. Online practical examinations such as webinars enhance students' knowledge and confidence, and have increasingly been adopted for continuing medical education [18]. It is suggested that due to their wide accessibility, webinars are a way of conferencing that can facilitate learning while ensuring high quality at low cost. Furthermore, webinars enable teachers to share information with students anywhere and at any time using different Internet-capable devices [19]. However, even though the use of video-conferencing has been utilised in the past by some HSE institutions, common barriers reported with this type of virtual assessment include instability of connection and lack of on-site technology and instructional design support. This narrative intends to provide an understanding of the synthesised opportunities and challenges presented by online practical examinations that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
