Development and validation of a new satisfaction scale for objective structured clinical assessments (S-OSCA): A multicenter cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundNursing clinical competence assessment has acquired a special relevance at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in recent years. In this context, the Objective Structured Clinical Assessment (OSCA) has emerged as a valid and feasible method of assessing nursing competence. The Satisfaction with Nursing Skill Examination: Objective Structured Clinical Assessment (SINE-OSCA) scale is a valid and reliable 10-item measure that has been developed to evaluate nursing students' satisfaction with the OSCA in the Australian context. Given the importance that OSCA has gained in Spain, it is necessary to validate this tool to be used in one of the most spoken languages in the world. ObjectivesThe purpose of the study was to carry out a modification of the SINE-OSCA, cross-cultural adaptation and a psychometric analysis of the new S-OSCA with Spanish nursing students. DesignA multicenter study of questionnaire development and validation was carried out in 2023 in four Spanish university nursing centers. The study was carried out in 3 phases: design, pilot implementation, and construct validation. Participants/settingThe total population of students from these centers amounted to 1350 students. The final sample consisted of 364 nursing students, selected by convenience sampling. MethodsThe process of translation and cultural adaptation of SINE-OSCA to the Spanish population was carried out following the guidelines proposed by Beaton et al. Content validation, Internal consistency and temporal reliability were evaluated. ResultsThe S-OSCA presents values in the psychometric indicators (V AIKEN, Bland-Altman diagram, and IVC Lawshe) that exceed the cut-off values established even considering the lower limit of the confidence intervals. This spanish version of the SINE-OSCA has a Cronbach's alpha value that is slightly higher than that reported for that original version (0.928 CI 95 % (0.913–0.94)). Regarding temporal reliability, the S-OSCA scale was completed in 40 nursing students at two times separated by an interval of 15 days. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) obtained was 0.974 CI 95 % (0.952–0.986). ConclusionsThe S-OSCA instrument proves to be robust enough to guarantee the quality of its results up to 15 days post-OSCA.