Evaluation of the objective structured clinical examination by the nursing students

Abstract

The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) represents a pivotal innovation in the assessment of clinical proficiency within nursing education. This method is crucial as nurses are anticipated to exhibit competence across diverse healthcare settings, ensuring comprehensive, safe, and high-quality care throughout the patient's lifespan. A key challenge in evaluating clinical competence lies in the inherent subjectivity and complexity of the task. This demands educators to perpetually seek and refine tools apt for gauging nursing competence. Our study, a descriptive cross-sectional analysis encompassing 150 undergraduate nursing students, utilized a modified standardized survey questionnaire to appraise student perceptions of their OSCE experiences. Findings indicate a predominant classification of the OSCE as "good," with a notable preference for the planning phase over the implementation phase. Pre-test orientation was highly valued, whereas the provision of materials was critiqued. Gender and academic year were identified as significant variables influencing OSCE evaluations, particularly in the implementation phase and regarding examiner roles. This research offers foundational insights for future studies aiming to enhance OSCE methodology and substantiates the necessity of integrating OSCE into nursing curricula for robust clinical competence assessment.