Psychometric testing and cost of a five-station OSCE for newly graduated nurses

Abstract

BackgroundThe Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is widely used in nursing education, but its implementation is costly and resource intensive, potentially limiting its feasibility. A five-station OSCE was designed to replace a previously validated 12-station OSCE but was not evaluated for its psychometric properties. PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate the validity, reliability, acceptability, educational impact, and cost of a five-station OSCE using Van der Vleuten's utility formula. MethodsThis study was based on a cross-sectional, nonexperimental design involving psychometric testing, a survey, and a cost analysis. ResultsThe five-station OSCE showed high content and predictive validity and inter-rater reliability among examiners. The OSCE format was well accepted by participants and achieved a cost saving of 45.2% compared with the 12-station format. ConclusionsThe five-station OSCE provides an authentic and objective assessment of competence among newly graduated nurses.