NURSING STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF OBJECTIVE STRUCTURED CLINICAL EXAMINATION (OSCE) AS AN ASSESSMENT METHOD OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL NURSING PRACTICE: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Background: Clinical competence assessment is an important part of the training process of nurses since it enables them to gain clinical knowledge, psychomotor skills and professional self-confidence. The traditional assessment techniques have been criticized because of the subjective nature and lack of standardization. OSCE has become widely used as a competency-based structure for assessing the clinical competence of nursing students. But there could be different perceptions of OSCE by the nursing students depending on their learning process and educational environment. Objectives: To evaluate students’ perceptions of OSCE as a test tool for assessing clinical competence and to explore the relationship between socio demographic factors and students’ perceptions of OSCE. Method: A quantitative descriptive cross sectional study design was conducted amongst 300 BSc nursing students who were selected using a non-probability convenient sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was administered to collect the data. The collected data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The results of the study revealed that majority of the nursing students (64%) demonstrated a positive perception of OSCE as a method of clinical evaluation. The highest mean score was observed in the domain of effectiveness (23.75 ± 3.53, with a mean percentage of 79.17%) while limitations of OSCE received the lowest means score (10.17 ± 3.36 with a mean percentage of 50.85%). A statistically significant association was observed between age and students’ perception of OSCE, whereas no significant association was found with other social demographic variables. Conclusion: Nursing students perceive OSCE as a fair, structure and effective method of clinical evaluation, although concerns related to time allocation and examination related stress persist. Strengthening orientation, time management and feedback mechanisms may further improve its acceptability and effectiveness.