Abstract
The nursing profession is characterised by the fact that a significant amount of time is spent on competency-related activities. The assessment of clinical competence is therefore an important issue in nursing education and the utilisation of objective structured clinical evaluation for that purpose was considered to be very important in this study. The objective of this research was to explore and describe the perceptions of first- and third-year student nurses with regard to the objective structured clinical evaluation assessment approach. A quantitative, cross-sectional, analytical research design was used. The instrument was a questionnaire (ordinal). This questionnaire focused on the perceptions of student nurses with regard to the objective structured clinical evaluation approach in particular, and with regard to aspects such as reality, execution, time allocation and student and assessor variables. The findings indicated that, as an assessment tool, the objective structured clinical evaluation approach was perceived as not being totally realistic, especially by the more senior nursing students (third-year) as compared with the first-year nursing students. Varying degrees of stress were experienced by the nursing students in their first and third years but, in general, the overall perception appeared to be that the approach was well organised and that the respective students would be able to perform equally well in the clinical field. It may be concluded that the majority of students appreciate the format of the objective structured clinical evaluation approach. However, the study further highlighted the fact that more extensive training of students on time management and the relief of emotional stress is necessary during the implementation of this approach.
Highlights
The nursing profession is characterised by the fact that a significant amount of time is spent on competency-related activities
Despite the fact that the objective structured clinical evaluation (OSCE) is an assessment method that has been used for a number of years, regular ‘assessment’ of an ‘assessment method’ is still required as part of an ongoing curriculum review process
The students were the main stakeholders in the assessment of the assessment method
Summary
The nursing profession is characterised by the fact that a significant amount of time is spent on competency-related activities. As a result of the large number of students − about hundred per academic year on each of two campuses − that need to be assessed, the School of Nursing and Public Health at the University of Namibia often chooses to adopt the OSCE approach. During these assessments, specific skills are selected for inclusion in this approach. There was a problem in that it was not known how realistic or effective these OSCE assessments were, especially as the clinical competence of the students was graded on the basis of the results of the assessments It was not clear what students perceive regarding the OSCE. Data on students’ perception about OSCE examination yield important information that may be helpful for the driving force supporting a change with regard to assessment of students in nursing practice (Alsenany & Al Saif 2012:601)
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