Development and Initial Evaluation of the Cyber-Counseling Objective Structured Clinical Examination (COSCE)

Abstract

Objectives: This study developed and validated the Cyber-Counseling Objective Structured Clinical Examination (COSCE), a method and tool used to assess the competence level of trainees and professionals who practice cyber-counseling. Method: The COSCE’s development involved the creation of a cyber-counseling performance rating scale and two simulated client scenarios, and the recruitment and training of three raters. The COSCE was tested on six masters of social work students and six seasoned cyber-counseling practitioners. Results: We examined the COSCE’s internal consistency, interrater reliability, and interclient reliability. In addition, we assessed the construct validity through exploratory factor analysis and known-groups validation method. Conclusions: With further improvement, the COSCE can be a reliable and valid tool in assessing the competence of cyber-counseling practitioners.